Dinner: Venison, Sausage, and Black Bean Chili

Recipe by Bill and Cheryl Jamison Venison's robustness makes this dish stand out. Use jalapeño-flavored or andouille chicken sausage to lend fire to the dish, or blunt the spice with mild goat cheese, or substitute sour cream.

Ingredients

1/4 pound spicy chicken sausage
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound boneless venison loin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup chopped plum tomato (about 2 medium)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese
Jalapeño pepper slices (optional)

Instructions

Remove casings from sausage. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage, onion, and garlic to pan; sauté minutes or until onion is tender, stirring to crumble sausage. Add venison; cook 4 minutes or until venison is browned. Stir in tomato paste; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth and next 5 ingredients (through cumin), scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until venison is tender. Stir in black beans; cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top each serving with crumbled goat cheese. Serve with jalapeño slices, if desired.

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