Deliciously Smoky Paradise Chili

This award-winning Paradise Chili isn't just delicious and colorful. It packs a smoky kick to level up your weeknight dinner.

William B. sent in this chili for the recent El Yucateco home recipe contest. A panel of expert judges selected it as a winner from the numerous submissions!

Though the judging was super-secret, I imagine the blend of colorful fresh ingredients, effortless preparation, and the rich smoky flavor had a lot to do with its win. It also packs a surprising kick!

This is an easy one-pot dinner that's anything but ordinary. Start by gathering, cleaning, and chopping all your ingredients. The bright colors are a great sign of how much good nutrition is packed into the finished dish.

Next, brown your ground beef until it's about 80% cooked. You can do this in a separate pan if you're worried about draining excess fat from the meat, but if you start with leaner ground beef, it's easier to brown it in the large pot and just add the rest of the ingredients straight on top.

Once the beef is mostly browned, add in the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and spices. Give this a moment to warm up and stir it to distribute the spices evenly. Once the spice is spread out, add in the rest of the ingredients and let the chili simmer. It's ready to serve as soon as the Brussels sprouts are tender, which doesn't take long at all.

You can adjust the heat level by adding more or less El Yucateco Black Label Reserve Sauce, but also by your choice of chili spice. Using a mild chili spice mix gives you a low-to-medium heat level since it's just the Mexican hot sauce spicing the whole dish. Using a spicier powdered chili blend will provide a medium-to-hot kick since the hot sauce will add to the heat from the spices.

Paradise Chili is delicious when served straight up, but my personal favorite dinner is putting a big scoop of chili over a bed of brown rice, then topping it all with some shredded cheese.

For a super-spice that won't set your family's faces on fire, add extra Black Label Reserve straight to your bowl. (It keeps your dinner interesting but cuts down on complaints from the kids!)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef

• 2 cups baby portabella mushrooms, cut into quarters

• 2 cups purple onion, sliced thickly

• 1 1/2 cups Brussels sprouts, cut into quarters

• 1 clove of elephant garlic (or 3 of regular garlic), minced

• 2 large tomatoes, cut into large chunks

• 1 can (15oz) dark red kidney beans, drained

• 1 can (15oz) black beans, drained

• 2 packets (1.5oz each) chili seasoning mix

• 1 Tablespoon yellow curry powder

• 1 oz El Yucateco Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce

• 3 cups water

Instructions:

1. Gather, wash, chop, and prepare all ingredients.

2. Brown ground beef in your stockpot over medium heat until about 80% done. The meat will finish cooking while the rest of the ingredients simmer.

3. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, and powdered spices to the beef and stir lightly until the spices are evenly dispersed. Add everything else to the pot and stir again.

4. Reduce the heat to low and let the chili simmer until the Brussels sprouts are tender, 15-30 minutes.

Give this easy chili recipe a try this week and find your perfect spice level.

Does your family like it hot?

How about you? Do you have any other tricks for getting the spicy dinner you crave without setting your kids' faces on fire? Let us know in the comments!

---

For more hot and spicy cool-weather recipes, check out these other posts:

How to Spice Up Halloween Festivities

Hot & Smoky Double-Bacon Chili Dogs Kick-Off Tailgating Season

---

Looking for more spicy cold-weather recipes or ways to level up your entertaining?

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, or YouTube for more healthy and tasty ideas, all year long!

---

#ElYucateco #KingofFlavor #KingofFlavorSince1968 #SauceOn