I used to make chili just by throwing things in the pot; I never measured anything, and it came out differently each time. Then I found this recipe in Fine Cooking. The first time I made it, I followed the recipe pretty closely. Now I sort of combine this recipe with "my" recipe. I usually use some kidney beans instead of all black beans.

My husband really likes this recipe because it's nice and thick, without cooking it for hours.

It's not created for a crock pot, but I'm sure you could adapt it.

Here is a link that might be useful: chili

Ux, that recipe does look good and pretty easy. I might have to try it.
I too am a toss and add, and never the same twice.
Steph, the place I like to look for tried and trues is Allrecipes..Because of the reviews..people are very honest.

I have one that I love. It's at home though so I'll post it later for you and it's crock pot.

If you like Wendy's Chili...this is a great recipe.I make it all the time....
Wendy's Chili
Recipe #17858 : 2¼ hours : 15 min prep : add private note

SERVES 12 , 1 big potful
Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (29 ounce) can kidney beans (with liquid)
1 (29 ounce) can pinto beans (with liquid)
1 cup diced onion (, 1 medium onion)
1/2 cup diced green chili pepper (, 2 chilies)
1/4 cup diced celery (, 1 stalk)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2-3 teaspoons cumin powder
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups water
Directions
1Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat.
2Drain off the fat.
3In a large pot, combine the beef plus all the remaining ingredients, and bring to a simmer over low heat.
4Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.

Chili sounds good right now...it's COLD today! Guess I'll have to head to the store to get my ingredients :)

This isn't a crockpot recipe, sorry. But it's the easiest, quickest chili ever, and by far my favorite. I like it even better than all of the time consuming chilis I've tasted.

Brown 1 lb. hamburger and 1 small onion. Drain. Add 1 can kidney beans, 16 oz. tomato sauce, 2 cups water, and 4 T chili powder. Heat to boiling; lower heat; simmer about 20 minutes.

Place a handful of Fritos corn chips into your bowl and ladle chili over. Yummy!

We love this recipe. I cut it in half and it fits perfectly in my crockpot.

Fabulous Chunky Chili

2 lg. Onions, chopped
4 lg. garlic cloves, minced
4 lbs. Lean stew beef, cut in small cubes
3 lbs. Bulk pork sausage
2 (1lb 12oz) cans whole tomatoes, break up in crock pot
2 (6oz) cans tomato paste
6 tbsp. Chili powder
1 tbsp. Cumin
1 tbsp. Oregano
2 (1lb) cans baked beans
2 (15oz) cans kidney beans, drained
1 (15oz) can pinto beans, drained
2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Sugar
2 tbsp. Unsweetened cocoa powder

In a crock pot put all ingredients and stir. Cook on low all day.

It was 8 whopping degrees this morning and I think thats what we are having for supper is chili. I'm doing stove top, but have made this in the crockpot before.
Make sure you see my ***'s! LOL I love HOT chili, DH doesn't. ;( So if Grant is eating it cut way back.

Chili
1 pound hamburger
1 medium onion chopped
2 cans tomato soup (Campbells only)
1 can water
14oz can tomatoes,crushed (*I only use a half can cause I'm not fond of tomatoes
1 tablespoon cumin (*maybe 1/2 tsp?
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper (*1/4teaspoon?
5 tablespoons chili powder (* 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons?
1 can kidney beans (* I use 2
1 tablespoon pepper (* leave it out if you wish
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (* leave it out for Grant! LOL
Brown beef,onion,cumin,red pepper.Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour (*I do it on high in the crockpot for 4 hours

I use the same recipe as CR all the time. I think it tastes great. Especially when it's chilly ! hehe

I don't weigh or measure, but I can give you "approximates" for my chili.

1 - 2lbs ground beef
1 onion diced
1/2 EACH, red/green/yellow bell pepper diced
2 stalks celery diced

2 or 3 cans tomato sauce
1 large can diced tomatoes
3 cans kidney beans (I try for different varieties for colour such as red and dark red)drained and rinsed
1 can mixed beans (contains pinto and white beans among others)drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1/2 jar Heinz Chili sauce
cumin
cayenne
chili powder
crushed chilies
cocoa powder
sugar
pepper

Brown ground beef and drain off all fat. I like to put it in a strainer and rinse off all the fat under hot water. Put all the vegetables in frying pan and cook until tender. Put the ground beef and vegetables in a big pot and add all of the remaining ingredients. How much spices you add depends on how hot you like your chili. I add about a teaspoon of cocoa powder and a teaspoon *if* that much of sugar. I add the sugar because it cuts down on the acid of the tomatoes so you shouldn't get heartburn. If the chili is too thick to begin with, add about a 1/2 tomato sauce can of water (or more). Let simmer at least six hours to mix all the flavours well. This actually tastes better the next day. I serve mine over a bed of long grain white rice and with garlic toast on the side.

I forgot to say add garlic! Ya gotta have garlic in chili! LOL

Thanks for mentioning chili! It is cold here,or at least DH thinks it is! It's only 54º and he is wearing his hooded fleece jacket with the hood on,in the house! I don't know what he will do when it REALLY gets cold! LOL Anyway,I have some ground beef thawed out and I think I'll make a pot of chili right now!

My Basic Chili
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 med. onion finely chopped
1 T. Minced garlic
2 T. olive oil
Saute the onion in the olive oil until tender.Add the garlic and ground beef.Cook until meat is no longer pink then add:
4 cups water
1 tsp. Cumin powder
4 T. chili powder
Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or longer if desired.
At this point you could transfer the ingredients to a crock pot and cook several hours on low or about 1 hour on high.
I think home made chili has better flavor the longer it simmers and by transferring it to a crock pot you don't have to watch it as closely and it stays hot.
We don't always want beans in our chili but you can add them 15-20 minutes before serving if you do.If I have people here that like beans I just have a pot on the stove and everyone can add their own.We like Pinto beans in chili.
You can also add a 15 oz. can of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes if you like the tomato based chili.
I serve it with Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese,corn chips,tortilla chips and sour cream on the side.

MMMMMMM.........my pot of chili is now simmering on the stove and it smells sooo good!

Lillie, your husband would be in trouble here.............. it's -6C right now. LOL

LOL Debby, you can tell where we're from can't ya? our high was 10 above, colder now of course and our windchill is 10 below!

Steph - This is THE BEST chili I've ever made. It looks time consuming, but it's worth it.

Boilermaker Tailgate Chili

* 2 pounds ground beef chuck
* 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
* 3 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
* 1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce
* 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 1 large yellow onion, chopped
* 3 stalks celery, chopped
* 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped
* 1 tablespoon bacon bits
* 4 cubes beef bouillon
* 1/2 cup beer
* 1/4 cup chili powder
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. TabascoÂ)
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos®
* 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

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DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
2. Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, chile peppers, bacon bits, bouillon, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.
4. To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips and shredded Cheddar cheese.

I made some yesterday and had leftover for lunch.
Here's what I do. I use black beans, but any could be used. The people I've made it for always like it.

Spray skillet.
Saute 1 chopped onion and 1 clove garlic.
Add 1 lb. ground beef, cook til browned.

Dump all that in the crock pot.
Add
15 oz. tomato sauce
1 c. boiling water w/beef buillon cube dissolved in it
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. ground cumin
2 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. black pepper
dash of cayenne, optional

Let it cook in crock pot 3-4 hours on low.

Here's my late husband's chili recipe (and now it's mine):

Brown 1 pound of hamburger, in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, in a skillet on the stove.

Toss the hamburger into the crock pot, along with one coarsly chopped small onion, a can of pinto beans and a can of red beans, drained. Put in a couple pinches of sea salt.

Next, add a can of V8 tomato juice and a can of mild Rotel. If you like thicker chili, add cans of beans until you are happy with the consistency. You need 1 can of Rotel tomatoes for each 2 cans of beans.

Turn the crock pot on low (high if you're in a hurry). If you like it really spicy, get the hot Rotel. It will be ready in 4-8 hours, depending on how high you set your crock pot.

All who have been served this chili always ask for the recipe - they love it.