Chili Con Bisonte

• Bison (buffalo) is very lean meat and that makes it a great choice for chili. See nutrition facts and cooking tips here.
• This chili was thrown together with less planning than usual, hence the mixture of beans and the absence of green pepper.  I'm going to modify the written recipe to reflect what I recommend (over what I did).

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2 tablespoons canola oil
3 medium onions, diced

1 cup of diced bell pepper

2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons finely sliced jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 pound ground bison meat
29-ounce can of pinto beans
29-ounce can of black beans
2 28-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
29-ounce can of tomato puree
1 bay leaf
2-5 tablespoons chili powder
salt
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• Heat oil in a large soup pot over a medium flame.
• Add the onions, bell pepper, and garlic until the onions begin to get translucent.
• Add the jalapeno pepper if you wish.
• Add the buffalo meat, breaking it up with your spoon as it browns. Because it's lower in fat than ground beef, it will cook faster.
• Add all the beans, tomato products, and bay leaf.
• Add about half of the chili powder and a small amount of salt.
• Add water if the chili seems too thick -- 1 to 3 cups.
• Let cook 30 minutes to 2 hours. Longer cooking will meld the flavors.
• Check the flavor. Before adding more more chili powder, be sure the salt is correct as salt will heighten the spicy flavor. Then, add more chili powder to taste.