Venison Chili

The weather in Austin has not been our typical winter. It has been cold and rainy, and yesterday was no exception. It was the perfect day to make a steaming hot pot of venison chili. We get the best venison meat from my step sister and her hubby. George goes hunting every year and comes back with freezer loads of venison meat. So, we are always happy to take some of it off their hands. This recipe is on the mild side since my poor stomach can't take much heat but you can certainly add cayenne to the recipe if you want to kick it up a notch. This is also real Texas chili, you won't find any beans here! Also I don't really do any measuring when making chili so please feel free to adjust my measurements if you need to.

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 yellow onion diced
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 pound ground venison (you can use any kind of ground meat you like)
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
1/2 cup of chili powder
1 28oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
1 8oz. can of tomato sauce
1 cup of chicken stock
1 1/2 cups water
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 carrots diced
1 package of Burton beef/pork smoked sausage sliced

In a large pot heat oil on medium high heat, add onions and garlic, and saute for a few minutes until onions start to soften. Add ground venison to the pot, saute until meat is browned. Add cumin and chili powder to meat mixture. Add whole can tomatoes, breaking them up as you put them into pot. Add tomato sauce, chicken stock, and water and stir until all combined. Add bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil and turn heat down to low. Simmer uncovered for around 30 minutes. Add carrots and sausage to pot. Simmer for another 30 minutes or until carrots are soft and cooked through. Serves 6. We like to eat ours with fresh toasted sourdough bread. YUM!