Basic Chili

This recipe is from Penzey's Spices.  I order spices from them quite often, and got some Penzey's chili powder recently.  I had some ground beef on hand and felt like making an easy chili, so I found this recipe.  I also adapted it for my slow cooker by adding less liquid.  I also used less beef and more beans according to what I had on hand.  (Still brown the ground beef and onion on the stove top). This made quite a lot, so we had it with some tortilla chips one day, and the next, we had good old-fashioned Frito pies using this chili!  It was all delicious.  I love Frito Pies, especially with homemade chili.

Basic Chili (Slow Cooker)
adapted from Penzey's

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground chipotle powder
1/2-1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper- optional; I omit for kids
3 TB. chili powder
1 cup water
1 26 oz. can tomato puree (I used Italian "passata" for this; worked perfect)
2 16 oz. cans no salt added chopped tomatoes
3 16 oz. cans beans, drained (I used pinto, cannellini, and black)
salt, to taste

1.  Brown beef in a thick-bottomed skillet.  Add onions and  sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add red bell pepper and garlic, continuing to cook 2-3 more minutes. Add black pepper, ground cumin, chipotle and hot red pepper to taste plus chili powder, while continually stirring until spices begin to stick to bottom of skillet and brown (about 30-45 seconds). Quickly add 1 cup of water, stirring and scraping the bottom.  Scrape mixture into slow cooker.

2.  To the slow cooker, add tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and the juice they were packed in. Add beans and salt. Add the beef but try not to include any fat that may have accumulated. Stir. Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 3-5 hours.

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