I know I know!
You are muttering! Wondering what I could possibly be thinking. After all, it isn’t 1970. (That’s for sure)
But you haven’t tasted my chili!
Once you do, you will quickly reevaluate your chili opinion.

Let’s get started

I use my crockpot but you can use a pot if you don’t have one. (They are less than $100. and the Bay often has a great sale)
When you read the instructions you might think it is too much work. But come on now! It will take you, at most an hour to get everything chopped and sauteed but the good news is, that’s it. You get your kitchen cleaned up, take yourself outside to walk or run or swim, or you stay inside and do laundry, iron, read or chit chat and then You serve it and eat it and put your dishes in the dishwasher. End!
Woohoo!

You will need the following:
1 1/2 LB. lean ground beef 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper
1 large onion chopped (as fine as you can do it but don’t worry about being too perfect. I sure don’t)
3 stalks celery (also chopped) And for goodness sake don’t throw the leaves away.  They add enormous flavour.  I sometimes add ONLY the leaves to a recipe.
5 cloves of garlic chopped
296m paese mio whole tomatoes (I like this brand but you can use any brand)
398ml Aurora diced tomatoes (I adore these and you will see them in the picture of my necessary pantry items. But you can use whatever you like)
680gr bottle of crushed **tomatoes
540ml kidney beans
540ml black beans
2 TBLSP chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. oregano
8 whole allspice. These add flavour. Just take them out when you are serving into bowls. It won’t hurt you to eat them but I prefer not to.
I get my spices at Bulk Barn. That way I don’t have stale spices lying around. I keep my spices in small 4 oz. jars.
1/2 cup chicken or beef stock
~keep a small can of V8 juice on hand in case you need some liquid

If you are using a crockpot plug it in and get the heat going.

First things first!
Get your frying pan heating on high heat. nano likes to remind me (!) that the goal is to brown the meat and not to steam it! If necessary brown it in two batches.
You do not need oil in your pan.
Brown meat fast and hot!

with a slotted spoon(so you leave any extra fat behind) remove from frying pan and put it into warming crockpot.

Turn heat back to medium and add 2 TBLSP. sunflower oil. saute vegetables for three minutes or until they begin to soften. Add to crockpot.

open cans of beans and drain and rinse in colander. Set aside
open tomato cans and add to crockpot along with stock. If you are using stock out of a carton which I often do, it will keep longer in the fridge than homemade stock. The carton stock will keep for a couple of weeks whereas the homemade needs to be frozen after two or three days in the fridge.
add spices and gently stir ingredients together.
Put beans carefully into mixture and stir once more

Cover and let it cook.

Crockpot for 5 or 6 hours on medium heat. No stirring necessary but sometimes I like to take the lid off and taste. Sometimes I like a bit more chili or a bit more salt.
Stove top for two to three hours. Stirring every 45 minutes.

Serve with fresh bread and a salad
DE-lic-ious! H-e-a-l-t-h-y

**http://vimeo.com/15721430  There is a lot I need to learn.  One thing is how to add a link that will open.  Try copy and paste to check out this short video of chef Michael Smith.  Very interesting.