Chili Soup and Cheesy Bacon Beer Bread

That's right, read that title to the men in your life and watch them swoon.

We love chili in our house, all the time, anytime but especially in the fall. There are so many different ways to make chili that we don't get tired of it. This is our newest find, one we've enjoyed so much that I believe we've ate it 4 times in the last 6 weeks. It's a great recipe to have some friends over with for a casual fall meal. That was how the recipe was introduced to us so that's the way I'm going to publish the recipe, but if your just cooking for your family then just half all the ingredients.

The Bread is what we've been making to go along with this chili but if it looks to overwhelming then just grab a box of Jiffy cornbread and it will still be so good. One great thing about chili is you could tackle the chili in the morning or even the day before and then just do the bread the day your serving the meal.

Happy Eating!

2lbs hamburger
1lb ground pork
3 packets taco seasoning
2 double packets Buttermilk Ranch Mix (Ranch brand packets for dip, 4 single packets total)
1 bulb garlic minced
1 onion chopped
2 bottles beer (dark preferred but any will do)
4 cans of beans (kidney, pinto whatever you like, we do a combo of kidney, pinto and even black)
4 cans tomato stuff (2 diced, 2 sauce, again this is changeable depending on your likes in the tomato department)

• Brown the onions in butter or oil until soft/brown (3-5 minutes)
• Add minced garlic, stir for .5 - 1 minute
• Remove onion and garlic from pan, set aside
• Add meat to pan, brown over med heat
• Add onions & garlic back to pan
• Add taco seasoning, stir to combine
• Deglaze pan with beer, bring to hard simmer, reduce by half
• Add rest of ingredients, low simmer for at least 15 minutes, or up to 2 hours.

Cheesy Bacon Beer Bread

makes one 9-inch load

Brushing butter on top before baking makes a crisp and flavorful crust. You will need about 1 tablespoon melted butter for brushing the top of the bread.

1 cup shredded Gouda cheese
8 slices bacon, cooked until crisp
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 cups light bodied beer like Budweiser
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

375 degrees rack in middle position. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan.

Combine cheese, bacon, flour sugar, baking powder, salt and pepper in large bowl. Stir in the beer and melted butter and mix until well combined. Pour into the loaf pan, spreading the batter to the corners, and brush lightly with the extra melted butter.

Bake until deep golden brown and a tooth pick come out clean about 40-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cool bread in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely and slice as desired (though we never can wait for a complete cooling)