Angie's (+ Sharing Friends) Sausage Chili

May I wax eloquently for just a moment?

This chili is so hearty, flavorful, and filled with texture that I really wanted to eat more than one bowl. But I restrained myself. Leftovers are always better on the next day.

This chili recipe came about as I combined resources from several venues, including the gift of leftover (not a bad thing, but as in I-have-way-too-many-mushrooms-take-them-please kind of way) chanterelles and oven roasted chilis I put in the freezer last summer. My only disappointment was the low level of heat. This Angie-lotsa-hot (as called by a Chinese food vendor in Spokane after ordering possibly too many stars of spice) loves spicy foods.

How do I know if my food has enough spice? The sweat factor. Back of neck? Hairline? Facial?

Check. Check. Check. Mmmmm.

Angie's (+ Friends that Share) Sausage Chili

Cook the following in a Dutch oven until the sausage is cooked through. Break sausage into small pieces as it cooks.

1 pound spicy sausage
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 onion, diced
2 small carrots, chopped into small pieces
1 small can fire roasted chilis (or a package from the freezer that was roasted last summer; I divided them into portions for individual dishes like chili)

About 1 cup of chanterelle (or similar) mushrooms, sauteed with garlic and butter; chop into smaller pieces (or use the last package of said sauteed chanterelles, garlic, and butter from the freezer; again I divided them into portions for individual dishes)

Add the following ingredients and simmer over low to medium heat for about an hour. Stir often and adjust heat as needed. Between my Dutch oven and the gas stove, I must constantly adjust my heat as I cook.

1/2 small head of cabbage, chopped
1 T. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. Mrs. Dash
2 T. cumin
3 T. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 T. oregano (dried)
1 15-oz can chicken broth
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 15-oz can cannelini beans (drained and rinsed)
1 15-oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 15-oz can hominy (drained and rinsed)

Serve with your favorite toppings. We were going to crunch corn chips over the top, but they were stale. So we dipped rustic, nutty buttered bread in the sauce instead. Too delish.

Sour cream
Grated cheese
Corn chips
Chopped green onions

One of the best things about this chili? Leftovers and plenty to share.

Enjoy.