Hermity Christine's Elk Chili

Chili is one of our favorite wintertime foods.  Hannah especially loves it, I think she could eat chili for every meal.  We also have an abundance of deer and elk in our freezer so we typically use it instead of beef.  Here is one of my recipes for chili, yes I have many ;)  This recipe is not a hot version, if you want more heat please feel free to add more :) We cut and package our own wild game so the meat that comes out of my packages is ready to use.  To avoid a strong game flavor you want to make sure ALL the fat is trimmed off. With beef and pork you don't need to be so picky though.

Hermity Christine's Elk Chili
Printable Recipe Click Here.
~1 pound elk cut into small bites (beef or deer are suitable replacements)
~1 medium sized onion (diced)
~2tbsp olive oil
~1-2 tsps pappaw's fuego de sal seasoned salt  (special blend made by friends but  you can use about 3/4 tsp regular seasoned salt with 1/8th-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper instead of 1 tsp of the mix.) I included ordering info below for the seasoned salt.
~1 tsp. black pepper
~1 tsp. salt
~1 tsp. garlic powder
~1/2 tsp. chili powder
~1 can of diced tomatoes
~2 cans of mexican style chili beans the kind in a sauce (i was lazy this round and didn't make my own sauce but you can if you want)
~1cup of sweet potato puree (i make my own from roasted sweet potatoes it is a staple in my freezer) you can omit this but it will not make the chili as thick and nice
~2 cups of water
*tortilla chips,cheese and sour cream if desired to top finished chili*

1.In dutch oven or large pot add the olive oil, onions and meat.  Cook until the meat is browned on medium heat.
1 1/2. *My kids are picky and don't like chunky tomatoes so I run my diced tomatoes through the blender before adding them. You could just use tomato sauce instead but it seems to have a different consistency.
2.Add the diced tomatoes, sweet potato puree and water.  You may choose to add a little more water if you want a more soup like chili, but we like ours thick.
3.Give it all a stir.
4.Add the seasonings, stir and let simmer with the lid on for about 10-15 minutes. Stirring every 5 min or so. You may need to turn it down to Med/Low you don't want to burn your chili on the bottom!
5.Add the chili beans and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
6.Taste test now, you might need to add more or less seasoning to suit your own tastes!
7.Now you are ready to enjoy!
~Hermity Christine

P.S. If you are interested in getting your hands on the Fuego De Sal here is more info.  Pappaw's Seasoned Salt varieties are hand made in the Texas Hill Country.  There are a variety of heats that includes the regular Pappaw's seasoned salt,  Pappaw's Fuego De Sal which is my favorite, Pappaw's Quatro Caliente which is my husbands favorite and Pappaw's Pedos Del Diablo which is pretty dang hot and with a translation of Devil Farts you just gotta love it!  We have been using these seasoned salts for quite some time now and love them!  Ordering information can be obtained by emailing sales@pappaws.com.