That Simple Chili

I'm no chili expert or purist by any stretch of the imagination but I do love beans in my chili, that's a fact. Taken from a a very old Cooking With Campbell's Soup recipe book from the early 60's (?). I adjusted the recipe, and ironically did not use canned soup. My apologies Campbell's Soup Company! Best prepared a day in advance. Serve with mashed potatoes, tossed green salad and cornbread. Ground chicken and ground turkey have both been substituted for the beef. Leftovers freeze well.

• Ready In: 15 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 lb ground beef
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 2 -3  teaspoons chili powder
• 1  dash black pepper
•  oil (for frying)
• 3⁄4 cup  pureed fresh tomato, mixed with
• 1  tablespoon flour, plus
• 3  tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 (15 ounce) cans  low-sodium kidney beans, undrained
• 1⁄2 cup water or 1⁄2 cup  stock
• 1  tablespoon white distilled vinegar
• 1  bay leaf

Directions

1. Heat oil in pan and brown meat only until no longer pink. Drain off any fat and set aside.
2. In same pan, saute onion until softened, about 2 minutes, adding garlic last minute. Mix the tomato puree with the flour and tomato paste.
3. *Combine the cooked meat, onion, garlic and remaining ingredients in crock pot or non-reactive casserole dish. Cook on low in crock pot for about 4 hours, being careful to dry out the chili, or in casserole dish at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.
4. NOTE: You can use, as I have, ground chicken, turkey or Gimme Lean meat substitute for the beef. I combine all the ingredients the night before in the crock pot and refrigerate. (This enables the chili to thicken up but also enriches the flavors of all the ingredients.) The next day I heat up the chili as suggested above.