Hold a Father's Day Chili Cook-Off!

If your Father’s Day festivities include meeting up with extended family, why not put all the dads to the test with a chili cook-off? Dads, Grandpas and Uncles will enjoy this friendly challenge, which will serve as center stage for the family meal. Serve hot dogs (that can be topped with chili), watermelon slices, and homemade pink lemonade for the meal, and finish with summery orange cupcakes reminiscent of 50/50 bars.

If Dad doesn’t have his own top-secret chili recipe, here’s a colorful one to try. Note: Chili seasoning mix can pack a lot of heat; if your family tends to like milder chili, start with 1 tablespoon powder and add more incrementally to taste.

Dad-Day Chili

What You Need:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 # Angus sirloin tips, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 # ground beef
• 1 orange bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares
• 1 onion, chopped
• ¼ cup chili seasoning mix
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 cans (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can kidney beans, drained

What You Do:

In a large stockpot over medium heat, add 2 T of the olive oil and cook the sirloin cubes and ground beef until browned. Remove from the pot and set aside. Heat up the remaining olive oil and sauté the bell pepper and onion until soft, about 10 minutes.

Return the meat to the pot, add the chili seasoning and brown sugar, and stir. Add the tomatoes and all the beans to the pot and stir.