Easy Peasy Hair Raising Chili

For some reason some of my best friends are scared to death of making Chili. I am actually ashamed to say that when I was younger and first out of the house I was scared to death of making chili myself! It looks so complicated when it's sitting there in that bowl, or in that yellow Wendy's chili cup.

Oh yes. I went there. God how I love Wendy's Chili.

So on cold days like today, I rustle up the ingredients to make my Hair Raising Chili. It's not fancy, heck it's not even from scratch. Well, at least not scratch by a lot of people's idea. I didn't make my own tomato sauce, or even roast my own peppers. In fact, most of this comes out of a can.

But oh god how simple did it make preparing Chili? Well, I'll let you be the judge.

So, let's go ahead and gather up my ingredients....

Yes, I use meat in a tube for this. Why? Well for several reasons. 1.) I am cheap as all get out. That's probably why I also have Walmart brand tomato sauce in there. 2.) I like the extra amount of fat in the meat. It gives it a good flavor and allows it to brown a little quicker in the pan, because I'm draining it anyway.

Anyway, let's do the Onion first.

Go ahead and peel and cut in half. I like to cut little slits in my onion like this...

Because it makes it much easier to slice into little pieces like this...

Of course, sometimes you do still have to do some rock and chop action to get them to right size that they need to be...

Now, plop your meat in the pan. Don't do what I did and try to squeeze it out of the tube, because then it just looks like the weirdest mess you've ever seen.

Now maybe it's just me, but I love the taste of meat if it's been seasoned while browning.

So for me you get some paprika...

And a little bit of garlic powder as well...

Now kind of let it start to brown a little bit before dumping in your onion. Just dump that bad boy in!

Oh yeah... this smells so good right now. But I am the weirdest person I know liking the smell of browning meat.

Make sure you get the meat nice and brown and the onions should be this pretty caramel color.

At this point I really do drain my meat. I know some people just gasped in horror but I need to start taking the fat off my thighs I don't need the fat in my food!

So yeah, now while that's draining go ahead and open up your cans of tomatoes and beans...

And dump all the cans into one of these babies...

Can I tell you how much I love my Crock Pot? So much so that I don't think it's entirely healthy. I can put everything in there and not worry about it while I work. I work from home, so it's very nice to not have to worry about getting off on time just to put dinner on! God I love my Crock Pot.

Anyway...

By now everything should look like this big old mess of red...

Which means it's time to add the spices!

Oh yes. This is where the hair raising comes in...

Now of course, these can be altered depending on how much hair you'd like to raise. My husband likes to raise every hair on his head! So in the spices go!

Just a little bit of salt...

I would say 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of Chili Powder...

And about 1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper.

Now I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but remember this is only our first spice dump. We'll add a bit more spice about half way through the cooking process.

Now dump in your well drained meat and onions.

And mix it all together!

Now from here I generally cover it, and put it on low. Let it simmer about 6 to 8 hours or so... putting in more seasoning to taste about halfway through. Just taste it... you will know when it's ready or when it needs more of any type of seasoning!

I generally put in about another teaspoon of Chili Powder and another 1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper about halfway through cooking.

Your mileage may vary when it comes to the spiciness of your chili!

But look at it when it's done cooking...it cooks down into this marvelous mass of chili that just fills the house with a wonderful smell!

When you open that lid you're going to get smacked across the face with steam and either a bunch of tears of joy or tears from the spice.

Cause that's just how I roll!

I like to top mine with cheese, sour cream and homegrown scallions. Oh yes, I said homegrown.

But sometimes I like to just dig right in!

I've got my bowl! Where's yours??

Easy Peasy Hair Raising Chili

2 cans Tomato Sauce

1 can Chili Ready Stewed Tomatoes

1 can Mild Chili Ready Kidney Beans

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Yellow Onion

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pinch salt

1 1/2 tablespoon of Chili Powder

1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Chop your onion into small pieces. Place your ground beef into the pan and season with paprika and garlic powder. Brown with onion until meat is cooked and onions are a caramel color. Drain and set aside.

Put the Tomato Sauce, Stewed Tomatoes and Kidney Beans into your crock pot. Add 1 to 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of Chili Powder and 1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper to the mixture. This can be altered accordingly. Mix everything together until combined, add in the meat and onion mixture, stir until meat and onions are covered.

Simmer on low in the crock pot for 6 to 8 hours. Halfway through cooking taste and add more Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper to taste.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, crackers or anything else you can think of!