HOT VENISON CHILI (Dated Dec. 2nd, 2009)

For all you deer hunters, I have made this chili many times throughout the years and it is awesome!

2 lbs. lean venison stew meat, in small dice
2 Tbsp.olive oil
1 3/4 cups chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cups water
3 (14oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (10oz.) cans tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
3 Tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. each of dried thyme, oregano, cumin, and salt
1 or 2 cans of kidney beans, undrained
shredded lettuce
4oz. shredded cheddar cheese (that would be 1 cup)..don't ask me why, I just know that's what it is
diced tomato

Brown venison in hot oil in your best large pot. Add onion, celery, and garlic; cook until tender. Add water and next 8 ingredients; bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add beans and cook 30 more minutes.
When ready to serve ladle into soup bowls and top with lettuce, cheese and tomato. Yield: 3 quarts

"When we Indians kill meat, we eat it all up.... When we build houses, we make little holes. When we burn grass for grasshoppers, we don't ruin things. We shake down acorns and pinenuts. We don't chop down the trees."~Wintu Indian, quoted in Julian Burger, The Gaia Atlas of First Peoples, 1990