By The Way........(And 5 Can Chili)

Please make comments if you are so moved......I would love to know you are reading. And now, for your eating pleasure, my infamous 5 Can Chili recipe.
So here is the thing...I know my chili isn't award winning, I don't spend days crafting it, but I am here to tell you that if you just give it a try, it is the best 10 minutes you will spend cooking.....TRUST ME. If your family is like mine, they will love it, and if you have a gaggle of people coming over, it is super easy to stretch....just add more meat, or beans, or whatever. Now, you need to start by doing two things: 1. Stretch your can opening muscles 2. Don't expect to get an actual recipe....you need to do what I tell you to do in your best submissive way, and quit whining. If you have read/used any of my recipes, you know I am not super big on amounts. Use your brain, for gods sake. NOTE: The absolute BEST way to make this recipe is with venison. Do not question, just DO IT. Beef is fine, as is cut up steak. But, in the words of Bobby Flay, (I am paraphrasing here) If you want to make chili with turkey, don't.

1 lb ground beef (more if you have company)
1 med onion
1/2 red or green pepper (if you have it...I never do)

Saute onion and pepper till they are translucent. Add beef and cook through (use the strainer trick if you are watching the fat) To this add a bunch of chili powder (? a tablespoon? Two?) and some cumin and black pepper. Now give it some of my old standby...Glug Glug from the Worcestershire bottle. Now two turns around the pan of molasses. Let this cook a bit. At this point you could add some chipotles, but I just make it a little hot and serve with hot sauce (kids, right) Here's where it gets weird: Add a liquid. Not water. Not a lot. Be creative. My favorites are 1/3 of a beer or a shot of whiskey. I have also used wine (too snooty), Red Bull Cola or apple cider. What you have is what works. Let this cook down a minute - to cook out the booze and to give you time to man the can opener.

In your crock pot, put: 2 15 oz cans diced tomato (another good point to add the heat if you get them with chiles or jalapenos) 2 15 oz cans of tomato sauce (I always use Hunts b/c thats what they have by the case...taste before you add salt!) and one drained can of beans of your choice....I like black beans but my kids are dummies and like kidney. Whatever. Now slop your meat mixture in, taste it to see if its ok, add what you need, and cook on high all day. You finished making dinner at 9:00 in the morning! Make some rice to go with it and bingo, you are done. A little bit sweet, a little bit hot (just like me). Enjoy, and let me know how it comes out.