First, I will say that I can see how this chili was the cook-off champ, it's really that good. I typically don't use a recipe for making chili, but I was a little intrigued by the lack of both chili powder and onions in this recipe. Not to worry because you won't miss either. Only change I made was omitting the chipotle pepper because it's a flavor we don't care for. It will take about two hours to cook down, so plan accordingly, and give it a chance to develop its hearty and robust flavor. I bought a can of plum tomatoes as called for in the recipe, but IMO it's not key to the recipe's success, and I didn't like having to cut the whole tomatoes into small pieces (yeah, maybe I'm a little lazy). Next time, I'll use the canned diced tomatoes, thinking the fire roasted ones might be perfect. Good recipe for sure. Thanks to both Bob and to Mark for sharing.

Thought this recipe was great and quickly put together with the follow changes. Replaced 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried chipotle pepper with 1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper - because I'm not a fan of (Smokey Tasting) Chipotle Pepper. I doubled the amount of chop meat and Kidney beans. Because I made a good tasting error, I'm staying with Tablespoon measurements instead of teaspoon measurements for the whole recipe except the Cayenne pepper. Keep it at 1/2 Teaspoon for mild heat. I served the Chili with rice and Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. ** Next time while browning the chop meat I'm going to add Fresh Chopped Jalapeno Peppers for more heat. And Maybe a little more Cayenne Pepper + 1/4 teaspoon.