Kiss the Cook: Tasty tailgating sparked by bread-based chili bowl

Even if your team does not make the Super Bowl, you can still have your game day chili bowl! What is better than to sit down for the game with a delicious snack where you can also eat the bowl?

I love chili. It’s one dish that allows you to be as creative or simple as you want. If you like it hot, add more spices and hot peppers, if you like it smoky, add some liquid smoke, if you like it sweet, add brown sugar, and if you want it leaner, use ground turkey instead.

Below is a recipe I made from scratch. You can modify the chili to suit your taste. You can even use your favorite cheese. It’s very easy to modify this recipe. One thing I’ve found with this recipe is that you can eat it hot from the oven using pita chips, crackers or any chip you like as scoops.

If you let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, you can slice it and eat it cold as a chili/cheese sandwich. No matter how you eat it, you will find it’s a great snack for game day!

GAME DAY CHILI BOWL
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Servings: plenty!

Ingredients:
½ lb. ground beef
4 slices thin cut smoked bacon (cut into 1” pieces)
1 cup diced sweet white onions
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup beef broth
1 quart (4 cups) tomato sauce
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. Salt (more or less to taste)
1 tbs. chili powder
1 tbs. chipotle chili powder
¼ tsp. cumin
1 tbs. fresh oregano (chopped)
1 tbs. sour cream
1 cup shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend
1 cup shredded Kraft Jalapeno Cheese
1 jalapeno pepper sliced
Large loaf of unsliced Italian bread
Box of pita chips, crackers or tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Fry bacon in a deep skillet on medium heat for about 5 minutes, add hamburger cook until brown, add onion, cook about 2 minutes, add bell peppers, cook 2 minutes. Add the beef broth and tomato sauce and stir. Add the fresh oregano, chili powders, minced garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered about 20-25 minutes or until the chili is thick, stirring often
2. While the chili is simmering. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Next step is to slightly hollow out the Italian bread, cut the top off, but leave about 1” of crust all around the opening, remove that section and clean out some of the bread to form a bread bowl. Place this on a cookie sheet and baked for 6 minutes, just enough to crisp up the bread bowl. Remove from heat.
3. Remove the chili from the heat, stir in the sour cream. Use a spoon and fill the bread bowl with the chili. Cover the top of the chili with the cheese. Place back into the 400 degree F oven and bake for 3 minutes, just enough to melt the cheese.
4. Remove from the oven and spread jalapeno slices on top of the melted cheese.
5. Serve immediately, use pita chips, crackers or tortilla chips and scoop out the chili/cheese dip. Enjoy!