Naomi's Chili With Fresh Tomatoes

Naomi's Chili With Fresh Tomatoes

I don't use tomato products that are in cans because of my concerns about BPA, an endocrine disruptor found in the plasticized lining of canned food cans, which is particularly bad in tomatoes.  However, this poses a problem when making chili, because most recipes call for canned tomatoes or tomato paste.
I developed this recipe to use fresh tomatoes in making chili.  It does involve a jar of salsa (which is in glass) and frozen veggies, but those can easily be substituted for fresh stuff or omitted all together.

Chili from fresh tomatoes

Ingredients
2 onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 green bell peppers, diced
2 lbs ground beef/beef chuck
10 big tomatoes, or 20 smaller ones, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
Chicken or beef broth
1 tablespoon molasses (blackstrap is fine)
2 cans beans (or 1 lb dry beans, soaked)  (pinto, black, or kidney)
1 jar salsa (medium jar)
1 can fire roasted green pepper
1 bag frozen southwest veggies
pinch of sea salt to taste

Preparation

1. Brown the meat with onions, pepper & garlic
2. Add spices, pepper, tomatoes, beans, salsa, veggies, and chili. Cover with broth, and simmer. About 4 hours is long enough for the tomatoes to "melt" into the chili, but keep simmering all day long for best flavor. 
Add salt last, about 1/2 hour before serving.
*If using dried and soaked beans, hold the tomatoes while the beans simmer in broth for an hour or two, then add the tomatoes (otherwise the acidity will make the beans stay hard.)
Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:
Food Network's Chili Recipes
32 Top-Rated Chili Recipes