Delicious Chili Recipe

This chili recipe was part of my menu plan last week and we all enjoyed it so much.  We finished off the leftovers today for lunch and it was still tasty!  I did alter the recipe slightly, which I will indicate in green.

Wazzu Tailgate Chili

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped, divided
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced (I actually forgot to pick this up...next time!)
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped green onion (didn't add this)
3 (15 ounce) cans chili beans (I did one can chili beans, one can black beans and one can navy beans)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 ounce) bottle lager-style beer
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 cup water
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Cook ground beef and pork in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the meat is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink.  Drain and discard any excess grease.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Stir in the onion and green pepper, habanero pepper, jalapeno pepper and garlic.  Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.  Stir the drained meat into the onion mixture along with the green onion, chili beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, beer and water.  Sprinkle with the cornmeal, then season with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. 
3. Bring to simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Refrigerate overnight.
4. Reheat the chili over medium heath until it begins to simmer again.  Top individual servings of chili with cheese (and sour cream, like I did!)

What variations do you add to your chili?  I'm always looking to improve on my chili recipe.  This one was a keeper though :)

I found this chili recipe at allrecipes.com.