Making chili is not an exact science by any means; that’s why all chili is different.  If you follow these instructions and it looks like there isn't enough meat or enough tomatoes, add whatever you need to make it look right.

This recipe is for about 10 people.  It seems difficult, but it really is not.  There are just a lot of steps.

Time Required:  1-2 hours

Skill Required:  Moderate cooking skills needed

Ingredients:

Get about 3 or 4 pounds of steak.  It should not be filet mignon, but don’t get flank steak either.  Get something in between that’s on sale.

You need an onion and a few peppers.  I like to use fresh jalapenos, red peppers, and green peppers.  I also use fresh cayenne pepper if I can find it.

You need two medium-sized cans of peeled tomatoes (not the price club size, but not soup-size either) and two cans of crushed tomatoes (not tomato sauce).  You also need a big can of kidney beans (you can use a different bean as well)

Chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, Tabasco Sauce, any other Mexican-type seasonings, maybe even Old Bay.

Steps:

Slice the steak into bite-sized pieces.  Chop the onion and peppers.  The hotter peppers should be chopped into smaller pieces.

Brown the meat in butter or oil.  Cook it on a low temperature so it will be tender.  Add a lot of seasonings: chili powder (lots), cumin (very important but don’t overdo it), salt, pepper, garlic, a little Tabasco, and maybe some crushed hots.  If you have Mexican seasoning, use it.  If you want to add heat, the key is NOT chili powder, it is cayenne pepper (red pepper).  This is very hot stuff and very good.

Add the onions and peppers after a few minutes.

As the meat and vegetables brown, take the peeled tomatoes and crush them into a crock pot or stock pot (not to the pan you're browning the steak in).  You probably won't need all of the juice, so leave it in the can and save it to add later if necessary.

Add the crushed tomatoes to the peeled tomatoes in the pot.

Add the meat to the pot.  Cook it all day on very low heat.  Stir it often.  If it is too thick, add the juice from the peeled tomatoes.  Also add more spices to taste.  The longer it cooks, the better it gets; the meat will get very tender after six hours or so.

When it is done, add the kidney beans after draining the juice.

At this point it is ready to eat, but it is best if you put it in the fridge overnight.  This brings out more flavor.