Homemade Chili

This recipe comes from a yahoo group creative homemaking and it is so much more like my moms than what I do that I wanted to share it with you

PART ONE -- THE CHILI

5 pounds ground beef

1/2 cup chopped garlic

4 small OR 2 large onions, chopped

5 cups tomato sauce OR crushed tomatoes OR tomato puree (about 1/2 of a #10 can)

1/3 cup dried oregano leaves

1/3 cup dried cilantro flakes

1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seed

4 teaspoons ground red chipotle chili pepper

1/3 cup ground ancho chili pepper

1 teaspoon ground cayenne chili pepper

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/3 cup salt

Put ground beef, onions, and garlic in a deep frying pan. Cook until the ground beef is brown all the way thru. Stir often and break up the ground beef into smaller pieces. Drain the fat as needed and throw fat away. After ground beef is cooked and fat drained off, add spices and tomato sauce. Simmer on low for about 1/2 hour.

NOTES: I use a large, deep-sided frying pan with a heavy lid. Use one that holds at about 20 cups, as this recipe results in about 15 cups of chili without beans. I freeze this in three 5-cup containers to add later to the beans after they're cooked. You could also buy cans of precooked beans instead of cooking your own from dried.

PART TWO -- THE BEANS
1 and 1/2 pounds dried pinto beans (3 cups)
4 small OR 2 large onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped garlic
1/3 cup salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons (about 35) whole dried piquin chili peppers
water (about 2 quarts or enough to keep beans from going dry)
ONE 5-cup container of the frozen PART ONE recipe

In a large, deep pan (I use same pan as above) add all ingredients EXCEPT the frozen meat/spice recipe from part one. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, until beans are tender. Add water as needed so beans do not cook dry. Avoid adding too much water or the final chili will be thinner. After beans are tender, add ONE container of the PART ONE meat/spice recipe (thawed overnight in fridge) and simmer, stirring often, for at least 30 minutes. This results in about 15 cups of chili with beans.

NOTES -- You now have 2 more containers of the frozen chili WITHOUT beans from PART ONE to make 2 more batches of chili WITH beans. Or you can use the chili WITHOUT beans as a topping for baked potatoes, chilidogs, chili fries, or whatever else you can think of.
OR -- If you have a huge electric roaster or something similar, you can cook 4 and 1/2 pounds of beans all at once. Then add ALL the PART ONE chili recipe to it. You will end up with about 45-50 cups of chili