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Hi there,

Chili is a great year round meal. I like it in winter with a loaf of crusty bread, and in the summer with nacho chips. It’s perfect for a party because you can leave it on a warm burner on the stove or in a crock pot and let guests serve themselves. I admit that I usually make chili with a seasoning packet and a pound of ground beef for a quick meal. But for special occasions, I use this 2 Die 4 Chili recipe.

My friend Tova Borgnine first shared this recipe with me in 2004. She got it from a dear friend of hers, C.V. Wood, Jr., an amusement park developer and the man who brought the London Bridge to Lake Havasu, Arizona. Known as “Woody,” this ex-Texan was living in Beverly Hills when he first entered the International Chili Society's Annual World's Championship Chili Cookoff, which he won in 1969.

Woody brought flair and showmanship to the World's Championship Chili Cookoff with a large rooting section, T-shirts with his name on them, a monstrous spice chest, a couple of Hollywood starlets as assistants, and an electronic chili gauge which, when placed in his chili, registered “Excellent” and set off a siren.

Here is the recipe Tova gave me, based on C.V. Wood, Jr.’s. Be warned, this recipe makes six quarts, so be sure you have lots of family and friends over to help eat it! I actually cut the recipe in half when I made it, browned the meat on the stove, and cooked the chili in a crock pot. Now, however, we have the wonderful Ninja 3-In-1 Nonstick Cooking System that allows you to brown the meats and then switch to the slow cooker function, all in the same liner!

Ingredients

10-oz can chicken broth

5 lbs thin, center-cut pork chops

1/2 cup cooking oil

4 lbs flank steak

6 long green chilies, peeled

2 tsp sugar

3 tsp ground oregano

3 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp MSG (optional)

3 tsp black pepper

3 tsp salt

5 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cilantro

1 tsp thyme

Juice of 1 lime

1 dash hot pepper sauce

8 oz beer

2 15-oz cans crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 medium onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 green peppers, cut into 3/8-inch pieces

1 lb jack cheese, grated

Directions

1. Pour chicken broth into a large pot and set aside.

1. Trim all fat and bones from pork and cut into 1/4-inch cubes. Heat oil in a skillet and brown pork, half the amount at a time. Remove pork from skillet, reserving oil, and add to the broth. Cook slowly over low heat for 30 minutes.

1. Trim all fat from flank steak and cut into 3/8-inch cubes. Brown beef in the remaining oil, about one-third at a time, and add to the pork mixture. Cook slowly, about one hour.

1. Boil chilies 15 minutes, or until tender. Remove seeds and cut chilies into 1/4-inch squares. Set aside.

1. Mix the next 11 ingredients with the beer in a bowl until all lumps are dissolved. Set aside.

1. Add the tomatoes, celery, garlic, onions, peppers, chilies, and beer mixture to the broth. Simmer 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until meat is broken down.

1. Serve with grated cheese.

Do you have a favorite chili recipe you’d like to share? Send it to QVCInsider@QVC.com and I’ll post it in a future blog.

Happy trails!

Troy

QVC Editor