Chili - Basic

On the stove, in a large pan, cover 4 cups of dry, small red beans or pinto beans with water. (I use red)

Boil for 5 minutes. (This breaks the seal and releases the GAS - no beano needed!...at least that's what my Mom told me.)

Drain the beans and rinse in a colander.

Put the beans into your crockpot (6 quart) and fill to 1 1/2" from the top with hot water.

Cook ALL DAY on HIGH until your beans are tender. This can be started the night before on LOW if you don't like to get up early and make beans...my usual method. Just check it the next day to make sure you don't need to add more water, just enough to cover the beans.

Once the beans are tender, at least 2 hours before eating add:

1 lb hamburger. If you're lazy like me, just crumble the raw hamburger into the hot beans and water and stir it in. Your meat will be so tender this way. If that bugs you, brown it on the stove first.

If your family is not as picky as mine, add:

onion, jalapeno, diced bell pepper, diced anaheim pepper, etc. when you add the meat. Obviously, we don't add any of these.

About 1 hour before dinner, after the meat is cooked, add:

1 small can tomato paste
1 tsp oregano
onion powder, cayenne? (how hot do you like it?)
1-2 packages of taco seasoning OR Chili seasoning from Sam's
1 Tbsp salt - taste to see how much you need
2 14oz can cut tomatoes, puree in blender if you need to for picky kids - use tomatoes with chilies if you like some kick.

For a delicious bowl of low carb goodness, serve over a diced tomato and top with a small amount of shredded cheese and a dab of sour cream.

*This really hits the spot on a cold day. Only have about 1 cup of chili for your serving. The beans have carbs but are also a GREAT source of protein. 1 cup of beans is a serving. Again, this is versatile for the family because they can have the chili with taco chips for nachos or I can bake several potatoes and they can top their potatoes with chili, cheese and sour cream.