Frito Pie with Melinda's Amazing Chile- Great for a crowd!

Serve chili topped with Fritos, sour cream, green onions, fresh salsa, etc., as desired. Or serve in bread bowls.

from Melinda Stern who is a great cook!

2 Tbsp evoo to coat bottom of pan
2 med-large onions, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp oregano
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 lb. ground beef with salt to taste
8 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 Tbsp chili powder (I prefer Bueno mild red chili rojo en polvo)
2 packets achiote (the company is Sazon Goya- look for Conculatro y Achiote)
6 cans beans (1 pinto, 2 chili beans, 1 great northern, 1 kidney, 1 black)
14 oz. can tomato sauce
27 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
additional salt as needed, to taste
1-2 cups of water to boil off as it sits

Ideally, you can make this1-3 days before you need it. It gets better as it sits in the fridge. But you can also start in the morning and let it cook all day. 

In a large pot on the stove, sauté onion, bell peppers, salt, pepper. When softened then add cilantro, oregano, and wine vinegar and stir in. Then add ground beef and salt to taste and cook halfway. Add garlic, chili powder, achiote, and finish browning the meat making sure everything is thoroughly stirred in. After it’s finished, dump everything else in: beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, seasoned salt, other salt as needed to taste. If find it to be very thick so I add in 1-2 cups of water and stir that in too. 

At this point- if you have started in the morning and want it for dinner today, put it all into a crockpot and slow cook for 6-8 hours (half on High, then switch to Low) to really soften the beans and make the flavors meld. 

If you aren't needing the chili today, let cool to room temperature on the stove and then refrigerate. Then the day you need it do the crockpot thing. Chili tastes best if it simmers for many hours. 

This is great served in bread bowls (or regular bowls) topped with Fritos, cheese, sour cream, and green or red onions. Bread can be on the side! Since it's a heavy meal, serve with a vegetable tray, and maybe a fruit jello. 

*try adding tamale corn flour into the chili if you don't use Fritos to give it a bit of a tamale flavor