This Chocolate Chili Recipe Will *hopefully* Rock Your World

OK, the photo may not be as appealing as I would have liked, but it was still pretty damn tasty.

The past few days have been snowy, sleety, rainy and just plain ... blah. For moi, this is perfect soup weather, and with the Superbowl just around the corner, I thought I'd brush up on my chili-making skills. I may not be the best chef, but do I put a lot of love into my dishes, including a vegetarian chocolate chili (which you can totally desecrate with meat if you're a carnivorous chili consumer).

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium dried chiles, split lengthwise and seeded
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 zucchini or yellow squash, cubed
• 3/4 lb kale, chopped
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 1 oz unsweetened chocolate, grated
• 1x 14.5 oz can whole tomatoes in juice
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 3x 15 oz cans of pinto beans, rinsed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook chiles in pan until tender, about 30 seconds. Cut into small pieces.

2. Combine chile peppers, cumin, oregano, cinnamon and salt. Grind until small.

3. Heat oil and sautee onions until soft. Mix in garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Stir in chile mix, cook about 30 seconds.

4. Add zucchini or squash and kale, cook 5 minutes covered. Stir in orange zest, sugar, chocolate, tomatoes and their juice, water. Cook for 15 minutes or until veggies are tender.

5. Add beans, cook for 5 more minutes.

6. Eat. Ignore dirty dishes. Nap. 

If you've got your own go-to chili recipe, drop it in the comment box. Let's all share-n-shit!