Dragon's Breath Chili

I went to the Food Network website and looked through all the different chilis to find the perfect one to make for our ward chili cook-off, and this is the one I chose. It is really good, in fact it won me first place! I ended up only doing about 1/2 of the chilis it called for becuase I didn't want it to be super hot, and instead of hot paprika, I used regular paprika. I also decided to take out the chuck roast, because I didn't want chunks of meat. Here's the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/dragons-breath-chili-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons bacon grease, or canola oil
2 red bell peppers, diced (about 2 cups)
2 jalapenos, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
3 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped (I did 1)
3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped (I did 1)
2 yellow onions, diced (about 2 cups)
1 head garlic, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 pound boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (I didn't use this)
2 pounds ground beef, coarse grind
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
2 teaspoons granulated onion
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons hot paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup tomato paste
12 ounces lager beer (did more chicken stock instead of this)
1 cup chicken stock
2 (15.5-ounce) cans pinto beans, with juice
2 (15.5-ounce) cans kidney beans, with juice
Double-Fried French Fries, recipe follows
Saltine crackers, for garnish
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded Cheddar
Directions
In large stock pot over high heat, add butter and bacon grease. Add bell pepper, jalapeno, chiles and onion and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute longer. Add chuck and brown. Add ground beef and sausage to brown and stir gently, trying not to break up the ground beef too much. Cook until meat is nicely browned and cooked through, about 7 to10 minutes. Add in granulated onions, granulated garlic, chili powder, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add in tomato sauce and paste and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in beer and chicken stock. Add beans, lower heat and simmer for 2 hours.

*I also did 4 different types of beans, Navy beans, Pinto Beans, Dark Kidney beans, and Light Kidney Beans

Baked Potato Soup

I got this recipe from http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/06/crockpot-baked-potato-soup-recipe.html
I just copied the recipe from there on to here...it's delicious!

Ingredients:

5 lbs. potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small onion diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper
2 quarts chicken broth
2 -8 oz cream cheese, to add at the end
crumbled bacon, green onion, shredded cheese, as garnish(optional)

Directions:

Use a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Peel and dice the potatoes, and put them into the stoneware. Add onion and garlic. Sprinkle in the seasonings, and pour in the broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4. The potatoes should be fork-tender. You can use a potato masher to mash the potatoes in the soup, or a hand-held immersible blender. I suppose you can also leave the potatoes in chunks, if you really wanted, but I wanted a smooth soup.

After smashing the potatoes, crumble in both packages of cream cheese, and put the lid back on. Cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely dissolved. Stir a few times during the 30 minutes.

Garnish with crumbled bacon, green onion or chives, and cheddar cheese.