Here's the email I sent to the woman I met at the support group last night:

I really enjoyed meeting you last night.  Since my separation from my wife, I've just been concentrating on my kids and trying to move my divorce along.  I can't tell you how nice it was to meet an intelligent, attractive woman to have an adult conversation with.   

I'm going to another meetup group this Thursday (Custody and Divorce Legal Resource Group) to figure out how to put an end to this dramatic episode and get my "soon to be ex" promoted to status of ex-wife as quickly as possible.  It's going to be a one hour Q&A with a family lawyer about "how to effectively communicate with your attorney to save consultation time and money."  If you're interested, I'd love to go with you.

The chili recipe has three "drops" where you'll add more ingredients as it's cooking.  If you add them all at once or at the wrong times, it'll make the chili bitter or too acidy.  For last night, I doubled this recipe.

Brown 2 lbs. of lean ground beef, drain, and add to pot.  Add one 14.5 ounce can of beef broth and one 8 ounce can of salt free tomato sauce.  

Add 1 habenero pepper to the pot and bring to a boil. It doesn't have to be a large pepper, habenero is insanely hot.  After it's cut or cooked, make sure not to handle the pepper with your fingers.  It'll burn your fingers or the oils will stick to you and you'll hurt yourself when you touch your face.  Pepper spray has nothing on habenero oil.    

When pot comes to a boil, add drop one.  

Drop One: 

1 Tablespoon of onion powder
2 Teaspoons of garlic powder
1 Tablespoon of Chili Powder

Cover the pot and reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour.

Remove the pepper and crush the juice into the pot. I put the pepper in a strainer and crush it with a spoon.  Try not to get the flesh of the pepper or the seeds in the pot.  But if you get a little in, don't worry about it.  

Drop Two:

2-1/2 Tablespoons light (or California) chili powder
2 Teaspoons cumin
1/4 Teaspoon black pepper
1/4 Teaspoon white pepper
1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cube beef boullion
1/2 cube chicken boullion
1/2 Teaspoon brown sugar
1 pk Sazon Goya   If you like your chili hotter, adjust the cayenne pepper.  A little goes a long way. 

I don't use bullion cubes, I use the "Better Than Boullion" paste.

The cubes work fine though.  Continue simmering with lid on for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes add the last drop.  

Drop 3:

2 Teaspoons Mexene Chili Powder
1 Teaspon cumin
Salt to taste  

Mexene chili powder is kind of hard to find here in Nevada.  It's much darker and hotter than regular chili powder.

It goes in last because it gets bitter if cooked too long.  Cover and continue to simmer for at least 15 minutes and no longer than 30 minutes.  It's ready to serve right away, but I like to thicken it up with cornstarch to make it a little less soupy.  Mix a tablespoon or two of cornstarch with cool water and stir until it's smooth.  Add the mixture to the chili and simmer while stirring for a few minutes.