Italian Sausage & Red Wine Chili

: Red Wine Chili & JalapeÃ±o Palmetto Cheese Cornbread

I recently pinned a chili recipe from a favorite blog, It Doesn’t Fall Far From The Tree. With a few modifications to Carolyn’s recipe for “Jane’s Chili,” I ended up with a slow cooker full of deliciousness! I’ve decided to call my version of this recipe Italian Sausage & Red Wine Chili. For the original “Jane’s Chili,” please link to Carolyn’s blog above. While there, check out her other recipes; they are all wonderful!

Because of the wine and Italian sausage, this recipe has a different taste from that of traditional chili. The wine taste is fairly prominent, which was one thing about the chili that my family wasn’t particularly fond of but which I thought added a nice kick.

This recipe is a good twist on tradition that I found really delicious. This recipe makes a HUGE amount (my 6-qt slow cooker was full) and is perfect for a party or small group. I served this with jalapeÃ±o palmetto cheese cornbread and a tossed salad, and it made for a fantastic meal.We ate it for lunch the next day, and I had almost a gallon left over to put in the freezer.

Italian Sausage & Red Wine Chili

Ingredients

2 lbs ground chuck
1 lb ground Italian Sausage

1 onion, diced (I used 1 1/2 cups diced frozen onion)

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 can Rotel Tomatoes and green chilies

3 cans chopped green chilies

1 cup red wine (I will use 1/2 cup next time)

3 Cups water

10 TB Penzeys taco seasoning (love this taco seasoning))
2 TB chili powder

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can white beans, drained

1 can black beans drained

1 T ground cumin
3 TB brown sugar

Directions

Put a couple dashes of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. When medium hot, cook the Italian sausage, ground chuck, and onions until meat is brown. Add garlic toward the end of the browning so it will cook but not burn.

Sprinkle taco seasoning, chili powder and cumin over meat. Stir until meat is well coated with seasonings. I think that seasoning the meat well before adding wet ingredients makes the meat more flavorful.

Add all other ingredients; pour mixture into a slow cooker. Cook on low all day or high for 5-6 hours.