Crockpot Chili

My girlfriend, Alicia had given me a Chili Recipe years ago when my husband and I had first gotten married. I was so excited since I had never tried to make Chili on my own before. I got all the ingredients her recipe called for and followed it very carefully, making sure I didn't make any mistakes or leave any ingredients out. I wanted this Chili to be perfect! Needless to say, it was so spicy hot, you couldn't even eat it. I felt so bad for my husband after placing a large spoonful of the chili into his mouth before trying it myself. He was such a trouper and after wiping the sweat from his brow, we threw the pot of Chili in the trash. I think my girlfriend must have had an iron stomach to be able to comsume something 'that' spicy! I was determined to get this recipe to my liking. So after many years of 'trials and errors', I can happily say that all the work I put into this Chili has paid off. Now not only does my family enjoy my Chili but I have gotten many compliments from friends over the years too.

Crockpot Chili

(print recipe)

Ingredients:

3 pounds of ground hamburger (can substitute with ground turkey)

1 cup of onions; diced

3 cloves of garlic; minced

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of dried oregano

1 teaspoon cumin powder

3 tablespoons of paprika

2.5 oz. jar of McCormick Mexian (Hot) Chili Powder *use the whole jar

1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes *plus half a can of water*

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon of crushed dried cilantro leaves *optional*

2 medium red peppers, diced

2 medium green peppers, diced

1/2  teaspoon crushed red peppers

1 - 19 oz. (1 lb 3 oz.) can of red kidney beans (rinsed well) *optional*

shredded cheddar cheese or swiss cheese

Directions:

Place large pot on stove over medium heat. Pour olive oil into pan and add onions. Saute onions until translucent (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add garlic and continue to saute another minute. Add ground hamburger (or ground turkey) and continuecooking until meat is no longer pink. Drain as much of the oil from the meat mixture as possible and then return the pot to the stove on low heat.

Add the chicken stock to the meat mixture and simmer for 1 minute.

Add *mixing well after each spice is added* oregan, cumin powder, paprika and chili powder.

Add the crushed tomatoes, water, tomato paste and mix well. Add cilantro leaves, red & green peppers, crushed red peppers and beans. Mix well again. At this point you can continue to simmer the chili on the stove top for an hour and a half on low. Stirring occassionally.

Or you can pray your crockpot with a non stick spray and then transfer your chili mixture to your crockpot. Set your crockpot to low and cook for 7 to 8 hours. If using your crockpot, you can put the chili together the night before and cook it the next day.

Prepare rice (according to package directions) just before chili is done. Place rice on plate, pour chili over rice and sprinkle with desired amount of cheese.

Chips are optional.

Serves 6 to 8 people