Crock Pot Chili

I've tried a lot of different chili recipes over the years, and none of them seemed to have quite the texture and flavor that I was after. I was always searching for the little zing that was missing. The secret ingredient seems to be cumin. I hadn't used it until I started researching chili recipes, but now it's a must-have ingredient for many of my recipes. If you've never tried cumin in your recipes, I highly recommend it.

This recipe for Crock Pot Chili makes enough for my larger Crock Pot (6 quart). We usually eat from it twice and freeze the rest for another meal or two. It's so nice to have the extra to freeze. It means having yet another meal on-hand in case life doesn't go as planned.

Crock Pot Chili

1 pound extra lean ground beef (We use 92% Laura's Extra Lean.)
1/4 c. frozen onions (Fresh would work; I like to cheat.)
3 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies (Mild for us!)
1 28 oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
2 15 oz. cans chili beans (undrained - Mild for us again!)
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans or Great Northern beans

1. Brown the ground beef and onion. Drain.
2. Mix ground beef with all remaining ingredients in slow cooker.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Do you have a favorite Crock Pot recipe? Feel free to leave your recipe or your link in the comments section below to let me know what's cooking at your house.