I was somewhat relieved that the weather took a turn for the worse today, and not just because we really need some more rain in California. I had spent my first SIP trips to the grocery store stocking up on basics to make soups, spaghetti sauce, and (you guessed it!) chili. And after a string of sunny days where a salad and something on the grill is all that sounded good, I finally had an excuse to pull that ground beef out of the freezer and whip up some chili.
As luck would have it, my go-to chili recipe was available online for me to share with you all! Which is doubly good as I have had a request for favorite Dutch Oven recipes, and this is definitely one of them. So I spent this rainy day making a large batch of Sunset Magazine’s Smoky Beef and Bacon Chili.
Let the bacon get pretty crisp 
before adding your onions
Even though I know that the weather will soon be calling us back to the barbecue, it will be nice to have some containers of this in the freezer for easy dinners down the road. And if all else fails we can invite some friends over (someday…) for chili dogs and a cold beer.
Add the spices to the ground beef 
along with one of my favorite seasoning kicks! 
Fire roasted tomatoes and a robust beer also add a lot to the flavor
Most chili recipes call for ground chuck, but since this one has bacon in it I use a leaner ground beef. I’ve also stuck to their suggestion of Anchor Steam beer and gone on the light side with the cayenne pepper. Serve with grated cheese, chopped green onion, and sour cream. A crisp green salad and cornbread will complete the meal. Bon Appetit!