Chili Chese Fry Cupcakes by One Fine Cookie

These would be perfect "man treats" for football Sunday!

Chili Cheese Fry Cupcakes

Again, these take a bit of preparation, so start early!

For the french fry part,

-potatoes

- salt and pepper (or I like to use Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Seasoning Salt. So much better. Found in spice aisle.)

- olive oil or olive oil spray

For the chili part,

Note: The spices listed are STARTING points! I believe in starting with an amount of spices, then tasting a few hours in and adding more. Also, we all like chili our own way so you need to decide for yourself to leave out hot spices if you don’t like heat or sweet spices if you don’t like sweet. A good cook can look at a recipe and adjust it to their own taste. (Someone wanted a beer cupcake recipe. My beer and bacon cupcake was suggested, and their response was, “Oh I won’t use that I don’t like bacon.” Ummmmm LEAVE THE BACON OUT DUMMY. You people are smart enough to know you don’t have to stick to a recipe exactly. Duh.)

If you have your own chili recipe, then just use that. Make sure it is not too wet or stew-like, though.

Or, my recipe:

- 1  1/2 lbs of ground beef (I like to use a cut of beef and grind it myself. If you like to do this then just 1  1/2 lbs of a good cut of beef, without the bone)

- 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste (remember, this is a starting point! if you don’t like tomato flavor then use less.)

-1 can of kidney beans (If you don’t like kidney beans then just use more ground beef and leave the beans out)

- 1 can of diced and peeled tomatoes

- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

- 1 green or yellow pepper, finely chopped

- 1 large onion, finely chopped

- a dash or more of red pepper flakes (if you don’t like heat start with one dash. I like my chili spicy, so I start with a handful)

- 6-8 teaspoons of chilli powder (same not as the red pepper flakes)

- 6-8 teaspoons of smoked paprika (ditto)

- 1-2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper (ditto)

- 2-4 tablespoons of brown sugar (just as with the spicy, if you like sweet chili go heavy on the brown sugar. If you like less sweet go light.)

- 1  1/2 tablespoons of salt

- 1 bay leaf

- 3-4 tablespoons of cocoa powder (same as the note for the brown sugar)

- 1/2  can or bottle of your favorite beer

- 1 tablespoon or oregano

For the topping,

-sour cream (optional)

-green onions, sliced (optional)

- a block of cheddar and/or pepper jack cheese

For step by step directions, visit:

http://www.1finecookie.com/2011/07/chili-cheese-fry-cupcakes/