• 1 pound pinto beans
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 6 shallots, chopped
• 1 (7-oz) can chopped green chiles
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 pounds sirloin OR round steak
• 1 pound pork OR turkey sausage (opt)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 pound can baked beans
• 1 (4-oz) can pimentos (opt)
• 3 pounds fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 3/4 cup celery, chopped
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1–2 hot red peppers, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 1 (12-oz) bottle chili sauce
• Salt
• 1 Tbs garlic salt
• 2 Tbs pepper
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 Tbs oregano
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 cups (1 pint) sour cream (opt)

Wash pinto beans, soak overnight in water to cover. Bring to a boil in soaking water then lower heat. Simmer covered for 3 hours until tender. Drain.

Melt butter in skillet, add onions, shallots, chiles, and garlic. Sauté until onion is soft. Add chopped sirloin and cook over moderate heat until meat is brown.

In a separate pan, brown sausage, pour off grease and add to meat-onion mixture. Stir flour into meat mixture and blend. Put meat mixture into a pot. Add beans, pimento, tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, sweet and hot peppers, parsley and chili sauce. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add salt to taste, garlic salt, pepper, coriander, oregano and chili powder. Simmer uncovered 75 minutes (11/4 hours), stirring occasionally. Skim off grease.

Before serving, remove from heat, stir in sour cream and return to low heat to heat through.

This sweet hearty chili should always remind us of cowboy poetry and Colorado mountain sleigh rides…