SWEET & SPICY SLOW COOKER CHILI

SWEET & SPICY SLOW COOKER CHILI 1 tablespoon butter 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided 1 large orange bell pepper, diced 2 cups sweet onions such as Vidalia, diced 2 tablespoons garlic, minced 1 pound Italian hot sausage, removed from casing 1 pound 80/20 ground beef 1 pound ground bison (pre-packaged and available in most supermarkets) 2 6-ounce cans tomato paste 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce 1 16-ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 22-ounce can Bush’s Grillin' Beans (Bourbon and Brown Sugar) 1 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes (or less for less heat) 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 ½ tablespoons paprika 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less for less heat) Juice from one lime Shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish Saltine Crackers to serve with chili In a large sauté pan, melt butter in two tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add bell pepper, onions and garlic and sauté for 8-10 minutes to caramelize the vegetables. Pour this into a large slow cooker. Heat the pan to medium high and add the remaining oil. Add sausage meat, ground beef and ground bison meat and cook until meat has browned. Scrape all of this into the slow cooker with the vegetables. Then add all other ingredients to the slow cooker except the lime, cheddar and crackers. Stir, cover and set slow cooker to low and cook for five hours. Stir after five hours and add lime juice into the cooked chili. To serve, dish out into bowls, top with cheddar cheese and serve with the saltine crackers.