Inna's amazing Chili

Remember this little guy and his mommy?

That's my best friend Inna and her little boy.  I spend a lot of time talking about this little guy since he's my little dumpling, but I haven't mentioned that Inna is one of the best cooks I know.  Like me, she's also Russian and we love to swap Russian recipes, tips, tricks, and secrets.  But it doesn't just end with Russian food.  A few weeks ago Inna brought this Chili to the baby shower she hosted along with my little sister.  I can't begin to tell you how amazing this Chili is!  Might I mention that I don't even like Chili?  Well, I do now!

Anyways, she's letting me share her recipe here along with her secret ingredient!

Here's what you'll need:

• 3 lbs ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• Garlic, minced
• 2.5 cups tomato sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) jar salsa
• 2 (15 ounce) cans beans of your choice (I'm using red kidney beans and black beans; pinto beans are amazing too)
• Chili seasoning kit
• Secret ingredient

I'll be using turkey.  Because I like Turkey.  But I've tried this one with beef too and it's amazing either way.

To get prepped, cut up the onions.

Then you can chop them up or use a food processor.

I love my little Cuisinart mini food prep. 

Now split the onion and keep about 1/4 cup for later.  Throw the rest in with the ground beef or turkey in a large saucepan over medium heat.

While the meat starts to brown, you can grab some garlic and mince it.

While we're at it, let's go ahead and prepare the rest of our ingredients.  Like the Salsa.

 And this Chili kit.

The Chili kit has a whole slew of spices and you might want to adjust the quantity to fit your taste.  I'd go about 3/4 on the Chili powder and about half on the Red Pepper.

For beans, I'm using Dark Red Kidney Beans and Black Beans.  Inna used Pinto Beans and they were amazing!

Now, the ground beef or turkey should be browned (you've been poking and prodding at it, right?).  It should have taken about 10 minutes.

Drain the grease and add the rest of the onion, garlic, tomato sauce, salsa, Chili seasoning, beans, and the secret ingredient.

The secret ingredient is brown sugar!  I was shocked but it tastes so good!   You can start with a tablespoon or so, but we added about 2-3 in our last go and I'm still licking my chomps.

Mix everything really well,

reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.

This is the hardest part because your house starts to fill up with delicious smells of spices and all you can do is walk by and drool.

But trust me, the wait is well worth it.

This Chili is to die for.  And of course, don't forget to grab some yummy sides like cheese, sour cream and some croissants.

Thanks Ms. Inna for sharing this amazing recipe!