Chili in Crock-Pot

My chili is hearty and mouthwatering and is made with a mixture of ground beef, onion, garlic, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, basil, tomato products, beans, and bay leaves.

There's nothing quite like a hot bowl of chili on a cold windy evening!!! The temperature 35 °F below normal, today's high was 51.1 °F, not to mention the rain, it's been raining here for 3 days straight.

And the best part, I cook my chili in the slow cooker. Great thing is that your slow cooker will do most of the work for you. Crockpot simmering away, while you’re at the office working or out and about… Hours later, you come home to a dinner already cooked!

2 1/2-3 lbs. ground beef

2 28 oz. cans Hunts Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes

2 16 oz. cans Bush's Dark Red Kidney Beans

1 8 oz. cans Hunts Tomato Sauce

1 6 oz. cans Hunts Tomato Paste

1 large Spanish onion

2-3 medium green peppers

4 stalks celery

4 cloves garlic

2 1/2- 3 tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. cumin

1 tbsp. oregano, dried

2 tsp. basil, dried

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2-3 bay leaves, dried

In a large mixing bowl, add plum tomatoes, breaking the tomatoes apart, discarding any remaining peels.

To the tomatoes in the mixing bowl, add tomato sauce and tomato paste; mixing well to combine.

Drain and rinse the kidney beans; add to the tomato mixture.

On a cutting board, finely dice the garlic. Adding to tomato mixture.

On the cutting board, dice the green peppers into semi small pieces. Adding to tomato mixture.

On the cutting board, dice the celery into semi small pieces. Adding to tomato mixture.

On the cutting board, dice the onion into semi small pieces, I try dicing all the vegetables the same size for even cooking.

Add the onions to tomato mixture. Mix the vegetalbes thoroughly with the tomato mixture.

Add salt & pepper, mixing well.

Add the remaining spices, mixing in well. Cover with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator while you cook the ground beef.

In a medium fry pan, fry the ground beef over med/low heat.

Cooking until meat is cooked through. Drain grease. Add the ground beef to the crockpot.

Slow cooking is a convenient and easy way to make a delicious meal.. Slow cooking can also help reduce costs, as cheaper cuts of meat are perfect to use in a slow cooker, they tenderize during the slow cooking process. Another plus, food cooks all day unsupervised, this also means you won't need to worry about burning down the house if you're heading out for the day!

Add the tomato/vegetable mixture to the crockpot; mixing all ingredients together.

Programming the crock-pot time setting to your person preferences when cooking:

* Cook low heat 8-10 hrs.

* Cook high heat 4-6 hours.

The first picture was after 4 hours of cooking... vegetables were still undercooked. In the second picture, it was after 6 hours of cooking... vegetables were perfect!!

After 4 hours of cooking I usually take a taste to see if seasonings need adjusted, and usually end adding more chili pepper...

For the onions; in a small frypan add 1 tbsp. unsalted butter and 1 medium onion chopped. Once onions start to brown, I season with salt, pepper, and 1-2 tsp. finely chopped cilantro.

I serve with sour cream, sauté' onions, jalapeño and Monterey Jack Cheese. I hope you take the time at least make this chili once, I hope you'll enjoy it!!!