A while ago, we started lessening the amount of meat that we eat/cook at home. Meals that I had previously included meat such as spaghetti and chili have become vegetarian. Chili is an amazing meal. It can be a full meal by itself, or used as a heavy sauce for hotdogs or burgers. Plus, it only takes a little while to prepare and you can have it cook all day while you are at work. When you come home, it is ready for you. Leigha made this after I had already left for work. When I cam home, the whole house smelled of delicious smokey, tomato-ey and slightly spicy chili. But this chili was just screaming for some meat.
After cooking all day in our crockpot, the tomatoes that we had picked and frozen in the fall had reduced down to a thicker sauce than Leigha was used to. This is, in fact, how I prefer my chili. While I was eating it, I decided that next time I make chili, that I wanted to add a nice dark beer to simmer with the beans. And maybe a few thick slices of maple bacon. 
To my bowl, I crumbled in some smoked gouda. It didn't really melt, but it did add a nice level of smokiness to it. Next, I grated some cheddar cheese on top. This did melt and added some creaminess to the chili. I decided to stay away from crackers this time. As a kid, I would always break up half a package of crackers in my hand and mix them in the dish. This chili was already thick and didn't need to be dried out at all. Finally, I added my beloved Sriracha. The kids decided that they didn't want to have anything to do with the chili, but wanted hot dogs instead. In my attempts to have them make chili dogs, I convinced myself.
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