Meatball Chili

After a day or two of rest, we were ready to tackle one last meatball recipe. I already had the meatballs for this recipe - I made them and cooked them when I did the Meatball Sandwiches, and put them in the freezer until we were physically and psychologically ready to eat meatballs again. So all I had to do was thaw them out, toss the chili ingredients in a pot, and let everything simmer.

MEATBALL CHILI

For the meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. bread crumbs (I used crumbled crackers)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 egg
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and roll into small, 1-inch balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes, turning once.

For the chili:
2 tbsp. oil
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
14 oz. can of diced tomatoes (I think I used a 19 oz. can)
14 oz. can of tomato sauce (I just realized that I'm pretty sure I forgot to put this in. Oops.)
2 c. frozen corn (I opted to use 2 c. corn instead of 1 c. corn + 1 can black beans. I didn't want the kids to complain more than necessary.)
1 bottle Canadian lager beer
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. Cuban Seasoning
1 tsp. dried oregano

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, green pepper, carrots, and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, along with cooked meatballs. Bring to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with avocado, cilantro, green onions, sour cream, and/or grated cheese.
First, let me say that this was very good chili. Second, let me say that I had higher hopes for my artistic display. When I envisioned chili flowing out of an avocado bowl with a meatball in the middle, it looked much prettier in my head than it did on the plate. Now that I re-read the recipe and realize I forgot to put in a can of tomato sauce, well, that just ticks me off because maybe if the chili were thicker, it would have been more esthetically pleasing. However, it did taste great, and it had booze in it, and I guess that's what's really important.