Spicy Bacon Chili Pot Pie (with Cheez-ish Crust)

Spicy, bacon-y, cheesy bowl of delicious is what that is. Like, WHOA. I used thai chilies to spice this up since they're about 10x spicer than your average jalapeno, you could say, I like it HOT. Also, the "Cheez-ish" crust tastes amazing and is nut-free!

Spicy Bacon Chili with Cheez-ish Crust
What you'll need:

• 8 strips of bacon
• 2 lb ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 10-15 (about 1 lb) sweet mini peppers, chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 birds eye chili/thai chili or 1 jalapeno, minced (thai chilies are spicy, they're little but pack a punch. use a de-veined/de-seeded jalapeno if you dont want too much heat)
• 1 large sweet potato, diced into 1/2 in cubes
• 1 13.5oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1.5 cups tomato sauce
• 1.5 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 TBSP paprika
• 2 TBSP garlic powder
• 2 TBSP chili powder (medium)
• 2 TBSP cumin
• 2 TBSP cayenne
• 1 TBSP onion powder
• 2 tsp marjoram/oregano (they're interchangable, marjoram is just slightly sweeter than oregano)
• 3 bay leaves
• salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

     For the Cheez-ish Crust (adapted from Adventures of a GF Mom)

• 3/4 cup packed tapioca flour
• 5 1-inch cubes of raw white cheddar (about 5 oz?)
• 3 TBSP room temperature ghee
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2-3 TBSP water, room temperature

What to do:

1. Fry the bacon until nice and crispy. Set aside and reserve the rendered bacon fat, at least 2 TBSP.
2. In a large dutch oven (mine is 5.5 qts), heat 2 TBSP of the reserved bacon fat over medium heat. Be sure to coat the entire bottom of your pot otherwise everything will stick. Toss in the onion and thai chilies or jalapeno. Cook until the onions start to become translucent. The oils released by the chilies will make the steam irritating to the eyes, so be careful not to stick your face in it. Unless you want a spicy facial..HAHA
3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Then add the chopped peppers. Stir and cook until the peppers become fragrant. 
4. Add the beef, break up any large chunks and season with some kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Throw in all the spices, except the bay leaves. Stir to coat all the meat in the seasoning. 
5. Add the fire roasted tomatoes, stir, then add the tomato sauce, beef stock and water. Crumble the bacon and add that to the beef mixture. Bring the chili to a boil and turn down the heat to low. Stir in the bay leaves and sweet potato. 
6. Cover with the lid and simmer on low for 40-45 minutes. Stirring every 10 minutes or so, you don't want the bottom of your chili to burn. After 40 minutes, partially uncover the lid and allow the chili to reduce just a bit. This will help concentrate all that flavor. 
7. Once your chili is done cooking, remove from heat and set aside while you make the crust. 
8. Preheat your oven to 400F. In your food processor, pulse the cheese until it it looks like tiny peas. Then add the tapioca, ghee, turmeric, cayenne, baking soda, and sea salt. Pulse to combine, it should look like crumbly sand. 
9. With the processor on, slowly add 2 TBSP of water. The dough should start to pull away from the sides of the processor bowl and form a ball. If not, then add another 1 TBSP of water. Slowly! You might not need all of it, just until the dough comes together is when you're good to go. 
10. Divide the dough into 2 even sized parts and wrap with plastic wrap. Place it in the fridge or freeze for at least 10 minutes (the dough is ridiculously soft) to firm up a bit. 
11. After cooling, working with one part at a time, sprinkle dough with a little extra tapioca and roll it between two pieces of parchment (i used my silicone mat and a sheet of plastic wrap) to a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Set aside while you prep your chili.
12. Scoop some of the chili into an oven safe bowl. Then take your rolled our dough and slowly transfer the dough to lay on top of your bowl. I took my silicone mat and flipped it upside down onto my bowl and peeled it off. 
13. Pinch any broken areas of the dough and break away any excess. Repeat with any additional bowls. Sprinkle with some fresh cracked pepper and pop the bowls in the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes.