Whole Hog Sausage Chili

1 pound whole hog sausage
one med white onion (caramelized)
1 med red bell pepper (roasted)
1 med yellow bell pepper (roasted)
1 med green bell pepper (roasted)
8 oz baby portabella mushrooms
4 cloves garlic
2 28 oz cans Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes
2 16 oz cans Bush's Reduced Sodium Dark Red Kidney Beans
2 16 oz cans Bush's Reduced Sodium Black Beans
2 11 oz can Green Giant No Salt Added Niblets
6 TBSP Mild Jalapeno Nacho Slices
1 cup water
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 TBSP Cumin
1 TBSP Chili powder
1 TSP Cilantro
3 TBSP lime juice
2 TBSP Chili Habenaro hot sauce

This recipe is intended for a VERY large slow cooker, and to be frozen for future meals. With the ingredients as listed, it comes withing an inch or two of the rim. Adjust to your slow cooker or you may have a huge mess.:)

Roasting bell peppers can be easy if you have a gas stove. Place them on high flame directly on grids. Watch carefully and turn often to char outer skin. Once thouroughly charred plunge into cold water, outer skin easily peels off. Remove stems and seeds.

We like things spicy in our house, and I usually brown any meat ahead of time. I add the basic seasonings early, but adjust the spicy heat to whomever I may be sharing with. After a few hours, I taste and add any jalapeno if it needs spice.

Any meat you decide to use should be thawed at this point. If you cook and drain ahead of time, you can remove some of the fat.
Begin by roasting bell peppers, this takes the longest prepping of all the ingredients. If you have a gas stove, you can place them right on the grid over the open flame (about 20 minutes). Turn frequently. Plunge into cold water, peel and remove seeds. Cut to desired size.
Cut up onion into desired and even sizes, caramelize, being careful not to brown to crisp. Keep heat low and turn every 20 seconds or so. They will turn a nice golden brown after about 20 minutes.
Chop mushrooms to desired size, grate garlic cloves
Heat up small amount of water and add mushrooms, heating until soft, add garlic, stirring thoroughly for about a minute.
Drain and rinse black beans and kidney beans,
do not drain tomatoes or corn.
Combine all ingredients except jalapenos and habanero hot sauce into slow cooker. Set to high for four hours, or lower temp for longer cooking time.
Once meat has had time to thoroughly cook, adjust flavors using hot sauce and jalapenos.
This recipe can be adjusted using no meat at all, or a crumbled meat substitute, and spices adjusted to your personal taste.
This recipe is great with some cornbread!
It turns out different every time I make it. I will sometimes add any veggies leftover in the fridge, like salad tomatoes, or broccoli, to make good use of them and add some interest.
As always, chili always seems to be yummier after the first day, when it has had time to chill.

Serving Size: Makes 12-15 1 cup servings

Number of Servings: 12

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user PSLATON.