Quick and Dirty Chili

When I married my husband I married into his family and he into mine. For the most part this works well but I have my stepfather that loves southwestern food and my DH's stepfather who is from the south. I lived in Florida for a while however my culinary skills and knowledge usually don't venture far out of New England as far as that goes. My husband likes spicy and I like northern corn bread. I set out to find a good chili recipe that was idiot proof for myself that would appeal to both stepdads and our own palates. I'm not a fan of super spicy foods. It was going to be tricky. What I did find was a recipe that over time I've modified and moved into a crock-pot. I hope you like it! I'll post the corn bread recipe soon! This is very filling especially when served with cornbread or chips. We usually get about eight servings from a pot like this!


Tools:
- Measuring spoons
- Chopping knife/garlic press
- Large oval crock-pot (don't know the exact size!) 


Ingredients:

• 2 lb ground beef chuck (not lean)

• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

• 1 (1-lb) bag frozen onions and peppers such as Birds Eye Pepper Stir-Fry mix (or 4 cups of fresh chopped)

• 2 (16-oz) jars roasted tomato salsa (Good quality salsa is a must: Newman's Own or Stonewall Kitchen. See Tip at bottom!)
• 1 (15-oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• Accompaniments: shredded Cheddar, sour cream, corn chips

Instructions:

1. Mix your seasonings with your meat and place it into the crock-pot. 

2. Top with the salsa, beans and veggies. 

3. Turn on low for 6 hours and done!

Super easy and something that I can throw together before going to work in the morning. Change the seasoning to suit your taste and the salsa base as well. My one tip about the salsa: Chunky is good. The salsa  is going to add a lot of flavor. It can also make it completely different. Try mango or pineapple salsa if that's your taste! There's lots of room to make it unique!