Fall unofficially kicks off chili season -- a time when a big pot of chili is the perfect meal to warm bellies on a chilly night or during football tailgates.

Many types of chili have a laundry list of ingredients, but usually require little effort to throw together. All you need to do is saute a few ingredients, add some heat and toss everything else in the pot, then let the chili simmer. The longer it simmers, the more the flavors develop. And it's usually even better the next day.

This chicken chili has a good bite to it, thanks to the hot New Mexican-style chili powder and fresh jalapeno pepper. If you can take the heat, chop the jalapeno whole with its seeds and ribs. Or you can use more or less chili powder according to your taste.

Many chicken chili recipes call for chopped canned green chilies, which are relatively mild. In this recipe, I added a chopped poblano chili along with the jalapeno. Poblanos are mild green chili peppers that resemble green bell peppers. You can find them with the other peppers in the produce section.

At Mexican restaurants, poblanos are commonly used to make a dish called chiles rellenos; they're roasted, skinned, stuffed with cheese, batter-dipped and fried, and usually served with a sauce.

When poblanos are dried and ground, their flavor changes and they develop a sweet and smoky taste. Ground poblanos are what make up ancho chili powder--and it's this powder that gives today's chicken chili its earthy hue.

The key to thickening this chili is the beans and their liquid, so be sure to reserve some of both. Mash the beans with some liquid and stir it into the chili. If the chili still isn't thick enough for you, stir in more of the reserved liquid.

When the chili is ready to serve I make sure I have cornbread muffins ready. I start out with the basic recipe that's on the back of the cornmeal canister and doctor it up, using half-and-half in place of the skim milk and adding some chopped jalapenos, a sprinkling of chili powder and about 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Two pepper chicken chili

Serves: 10

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Total time: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Pureed beans and reserved bean liquid help thicken this chili. Adjust the chili powder to your own taste.

1 jar (48 ounces) Great Northern beans, undrained