I tend to use a lot of herbs and spices when I'm cooking and our cupboard is full of a wide variety of them. But no chipotle pepper. I probably could substitute something else, but I don't usually need much persuading to make a trip to my favorite spice store to get the proper ingredient.
Penzeys is a foodie's delight. They have a limited number of retail stores across the country and we just happen to have one here in our area. Can you see the big snowflakes falling...that's lake effect snow.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzPL4sOlnXhxnn5sFaMcTdA9XV86-128PWhS22g2CSYoQTMln5EGumEMtBSUPyf7JDPrQJQx1zRX-efjHvIjS_bLq5ZcIZx0PuPJ13712xTqCMteqD0yXE0XJBF9XS6IQCuot6oMJiMaCK/s320/IMG_0781.JPG)
They sell just about any herb, spice, or seasoning you could want.
Spices don't stay fresh forever and can lose their potency after a few months so I like to buy them in small jars.
Now that I have all the ingredients I need, it's time to make the chili.
Just in time for the Super Bowl.