I was in the mood for chili yesterday and after doing some experimenting with Sweet Potato chips on Friday I got the great idea to make Frito pie. Now when I make Chili I sort of “wing it” as far as a recipe and use things I have laying around the kitchen, so I tried to write down this recipe as best I could. The best thing about winging it with chili is that every chili comes out new and excited but the bad part is, it’s hard for me to replicate a really good chili over again. This batch turned out smoky with a sweet taste from the squash and the andoullie sausage. Yum!
Chili:
1 pound Grass fed ground beef
2 links nitrate free Andoullie sausage, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 jalapeños, chopped and pitted
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch cilantro
1 cup butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 14 oz cans no salt added organic diced tomatoes in juice
1 cup beef broth
Salt to taste
1 tbsp cumin
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
water
In a large pot heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium high. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeños and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile in a large skillet brown the ground beef and sausage until cooked. Set aside.
In a food processor, add 1 tbsp olive oil and cilantro. Blend until it becomes a thick paste and add water until it forms a saucy consistency. set aside.
Add the Mushrooms and squash to the pot with the onions and sauté for 3ish minutes or until the mushrooms have begun to shrink. Add the meat to the pot and let everything cook together for about 5 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Add cans of tomatoes and beef broth and cilantro sauce. add in all spices and stir. Bring to a boil and then set heat to low and let simmer for 1-2 hours. It depends on how think you want your chili. I wanted mine thick this time so I let it simmer for over 2 hours to reduce and thicken. ( If you don’t have beef broth, chicken broth or water would work just as well)
Sweet Potato Chips
2-3 large sweet potatoes
olive oil
coconut oil
grapeseed oil
salt
Peel the sweet potatoes. I cut mine using the slicer in my food processor so they come out uniform. If you don’t have access to one of these you can cut them yourself. They can be as thick or thin as you like. Just remember the thicker they are the longer the cooking time will be.
If you have a deep fryer, this part will be much less time consuming. If not, place an amount of oil in a large skillet so that the oil is about 1/2 inch high, enough to cover your chips. Heat up to 375 if you have a thermometer or heat to med high. Know your stove, mine is a lot hotter than it says it is. Test one chip and get a feel for if the oil is hot enough, too hot etc and how long it needs to cook for. you will need to watch the chips at all times. When one side is golden brown, flip it over. The point here is to get rid of the moisture in the potatoes, so if your chips are coming out and ending up a little soggy, they need to cook longer.
When your chips are done place them on a plate with some paper towels to catch the excess oil. Salt them if you like and then put them in a large bowl. I found that it’s best to salt them immediately after taking them out of the oil so the salt sticks. 
The same technique would work to make sweet potato chips. I also tried a few squash chips which turned out great but required a different cooking time because they have so much more moisture. As long as you stay by the pan, flipping and checking your chips, you can’t go wrong.
Guacamole
3-4 Large avocados
1 bunch cilantro
1 clove garlic
1 jalapeño
salt to taste
1/2 tsp cumin
juice from 1 small lemon
place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until the consistency is what you want. If you are going by hand, mince the cilantro, garlic, and jalapeño and place all the ingredients in a bowl and mash with a masher or a fork, or use a mortar and pedestal if you have one.
The Piece de Resistance
Putting it all together,
In your bowl, put a layer of chips, then pile on the chili, then put some more chips on top and a big dollop of guac…. mmmmmmm Diego Approved! Garnish with chopped avocado, peppers, cilantro, lime wedges, cabbage…. whatever your little hear desires.
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