To begin with you’ll want to get the dried peppers into a stock pot and cover with water. Let them set off the heat for 2 hours. After two hours has passed go ahead and put them on a medium heat and add the whole garlic cloves. Let it simmer for 30 minutes then let it cool. Blend it (including the water) with the fresh oregano, strain well and set aside. This is your chile sauce! No need for chile powder! The flavor here is amazing!!

Just before you start the chile’s simmering go ahead and drop your whole tomatoes into a small pot, cover them with water and simmer on medium/low heat. Let those simmer for 30-45 minutes. Let them cool (I’m not a fan of blending hot liquids). Once cooled, blend the tomatoes with the remaining water. Set aside.

For your flavor you’ll add the spices and oatmeal together in a bowl and set aside to be added to the ground beef once it is cooked.

While the two pots are simmering you can brown your ground beef with onions and garlic. I add the onions and garlic after I brown it. Let the onions get cooked (about 10 mins) then add the spice blend. Let it simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.

Then pull it all together! Add your chile sauce and blended stewed tomatoes to your ground beef mixture!