We’ll, it’s the week after the July 4th holiday. It’s been a long time since we’ve done a post. Hopefully, we can get back into a better rhythm this year (it’s July 😂) on getting new posts to you!

One of my favorite things to cook is a good hearty pot of chili. And with it being July 4th, why not make one?! It was one of those spur-of-the-moment dishes that come to your head and you realize you haven’t made one in a long time.

To begin you’ll need the ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground beef (I used sirloin)
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 large bell pepper diced
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste
• 1 can dark red kidney beans
• 1 can navy beans
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• Pinch of cayenne
• And salt and pepper

To begin, I browned the ground beef in a 4-qt enameled cast iron pot. Once it was browned I added my onions, bell peppers, garlic and seasoned it with salt and pepper (1/2 tsp each). When the onion starts to look a little translucent, I then added the cans of beans and chili powder.

After that has time to incorporate together I add the can of tomato paste and the rest of the seasoning. I add one cup of water to chili and let it then stew down for about an hour. This is when I taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed.

When the chili has stewed down over a good bit of time, it will have a beautiful reddish/brown look. The stewing time allows the beans to get nice and creamy. It will then look like this beauty…

But it doesn’t have to end there! One of my favorite butcher shops in Baton Rouge posted on Instagram about their hot dogs. So what did I do? I went, I bought, and I “oh my-ed.” These were probably some of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had.

Hope you guys enjoyed the pics and the recipe. Let us know if you tried it. And to you and your family, I hope you had a safe holiday! Happy Birthday America!