Thomas's Chili

Thomas is a good eater, but many of my chili recipes are too spicy for him. This started as a test run of my new slow cooker, but he loved it. The trick with dry beans in a slow cooker is the amount of liquid they need to absorb to become soft. The 30 minute precook helps with that, but if you don't have time for that, canned would work fine. I prefer the dry because the broth ends up with more depth of flavor.

Serves 12-16

2 cups dried pintos (or sub 2-3 15 oz cans, drained and rinsed)
1.25 pounds of Sausage (non-spicy)
2 onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs cumin
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 12oz bottle of beer
1 Tbs salt
Salt and pepper to taste

Cooked pasta for serving

1. If starting with dry pintos: Rinse the pintos and soak (if you like) and drain. Put in a pot with enough water to cover by 4 inches and bring to a boil. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. They should be starting to soften but not yet near to ready. Drain and reserve liquid.

2. While the pintos simmer, remove the sausage from the casings if necessary and brown over medium heat. Break sausage into smallish pieces. When the sausage is about halfway browned, add in the onions and garlic. Continue to cook until the sausage is brown and the onions soft.

3. Drain off excess oil, and return to low heat. Add the chili powder and cumin and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Empty into the slow cooker insert.

4. Add drained pintos, diced tomatoes, beer, and salt. Add enough of the reserved pinto cooking liquid (or water if you use canned beans) to cover. Cover with a lid and turn on slowcooker at high. Cook for 5 hours.

5. Adjust seasoning and serve over the pasta with whatever toppings you enjoy