This recipe makes a very spicy hot dog chili. It is not for the faint of heart! I would suggest you start with small servings and have some mild cheese on hand to tone it down. I often add 1/2 cup of oat bran along with a little beef bouillon to the simmering sauce and cook it an extra 20 minutes or so. No one notices the oat bran in the mixture, but it adds a good bit of fiber and calms the heat down a bit.

4 dried ancho chilies ( or pasilla chilies)
1 Tbs cooking oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion,diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 10 oz can tomatoes with green chilies
1 8 oz tomato sauce
1/4 tsp sugar

1. Open the chilies and discard stems and seeds.
2. Cut chilies into small pieces with scissors or a knife and place in the jar of a blender. Add boiling water to cover and let stand 45 to 60 minutes to soften.
3. Meanwhile, crumble the ground beef into a saucepan along with the oil, onion, garlic, and salt. Cook and stir the mixture until the beef is no longer pink and the onion is softened.
4. Drain and discard the water from the chilies. Add the tomatoes with green chilies, tomato sauce, and sugar to the blender along with the chilies, cover and process until smooth.
5. Transfer this mixture to the saucepan with the beef, then cook and stir over medium heat about 10 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened.

Servings: 10