Chili in the Crockpot

I start this recipe the night before.. which sometimes messes me up if I forget. Can also be made with canned beans.

Soak one bag ( about 3 or 4 cups) of kidney beans over night in a pan of cold water ( sometimes I add different kinds of beans with it.. just depends on what I have.. mostly I use kidney beans

In the morning I turn the pot on high and boil just until the beans start to split.

While doing this I brown up some hamburger, or grab some already browned from the freezer.

I add to the crock pot... 2 small cans of tomato sauce, a large can of diced tomatoes, 1 small can of mamwich sauce, 1/2 pound of shredded carrots, some finely chopped celery and onion, some chili seasoning (a lot of a little depending on how spicy I want it ) and the drained beans and the hamburger. I add V8 juice ( low sodium) as it cooks if it needs more moisture. I cook it on low all day.. stirring every so often and adding more V8 as needed. If I am running late I cook it on high for an hour or two is all.

This makes a sweet and spicy chili.. everything in it can be varied depending on how much you want.. sometimes it is meatier than other times.. sometimes I add different types of meat.. can throw in some stew meat or some turkey or deer... basically whatever you have... can even mix it up and add more than one kind... if you want a bit more tomato or less carrot ( I sneak in as many veggies as I can )

I then cook up a bit of rice and a bit of macaroni and people can dish it up as they want.. I love adding fresh diced tomatoes on top and some onion and cheese.. a little corn bread on the side and I am good to go