Grandpa's Quick and Simple Chili

For dinner tonight, we won't be going any place fancy. We'll be going back to my childhood. Come along for the meal. :)

1 - 1.5lb. ground beef
2 15oz. cans kidney beans, including liquid
2 15oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cans tomato soup
1 onion, chopped
oil
1 garlic clove
1 Tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon each: sweet basil flakes, oregano, cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
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Gently saute onion and garlic in about a tablespoon oil in a dutch oven. Once the onion is translucent, add the ground beef and cook until no pink remains. 

As the meat cooks, open all the cans, measure out your spices.

When meat is cooked, add canned goods (including liquids) and spices. Mix well. Bring to a simmer and cover. Allow to cook till heated through or until everyone is ready to eat. Stir every so often to keep it from sticking to the pot bottom. You can leave this on to simmer for a couple hours or more, easily. It gets better and better. 

Everything but the beef comes out of the pantry...

Onion and garlic saute in a bit of oil in the pot.

After the onion softens, add the beef.

Continue cooking and breaking ground beef apart until it's completely cooked and no pink remains.

As the beef cooks, open all the canned goods. Measure out all your spices. Have them ready to go. P.S. I used one can kidney beans and one can black beans. Feel free to adjust to the moment.

Don't the spices look pretty? :)

Once the meat is completely cooked, add all the canned goods. Pour in beans, with juice.

All the canned goods poured in.

Add a little salt.

Spices go next. 

Swoop... in they go! :)

Stir the spices in well.

Looks good, but it needs some heat. Let it come to a simmer...

Put the cover on and simmer it for as long you need to. If you can eat right way, it's done. I make this every year on Halloween. If it needs to wait while everyone goes trick-or-treating, it'll stay hot while you wait. :)

As the evening goes on, everyone can eat as they are ready to. The pot will stay hot and the chili only gets better as the time wears on. It's even better the day after! Enjoy!