I'm beginning to do a lot of hosting meals now that it's the Holidays and I get nervous about fixing something that I've never tried to make before. I'm fixing this chili recipe this weekend when I have company over and I want to know if this recipe sounds good. My SIL gave it to me tonight.

1 lb hamburger meat
2 cans of chili beans
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
1 chopped onion
3/4 pack of chili seasoning
2 Tbs. chili powder

Brown hamburger meat, then mix all other ingredients with the hamburger meat.

Some questions, she didn't specify what size cans I needed to use and I didn't think to ask her when she gave me the recipe. I went shopping for the ingredients tonight and I bought 16oz. chili beans, 15 oz. tomato sauce and 14 oz. diced tomatoes. But now I'm wondering if this will turn out okay using almost the same amount of these ingredients. Or if there is supposed to be more of some ingredients than others.

Another thing is I want to fix this in a crockpot, but my SIL cooks hers on the stove. So how long should I cook it in a crockpot and will this be okay to cook in the crockpot? My SIL said it needs to be stirred often, but that is with cooking it on the stove. It wouldn't need stirred in a crockpot, would it? I wouldn't be here to do that anyway.

By Annie2 on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 05:27 am:

This recipe should work in the crockpot. I would add a cup or two of stock or water. Of course, brown the meat first. Maybe add a small can of diced chiles.

By Luvn29 on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 07:29 am:

A crock pot cooks slower so you don't have to worry about the bottom burning. You should be fine doing it in the crockpot, and no, with it, you would not stir it.

I can't give you any advice on the recipe. I use a lot of beans in my chili, light and dark kidney beans and pinto beans. This adds a lot of liquid because you don't drain the beans first. This recipe seems like it will be very tomato-y with all of the tomatoes, but if that's what you like, then you will be okay.

By Cocoabutter on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 07:47 am:

This is similar to how my husband makes chili. He's the pro in our house. The only thing is that he adds real peppers. I don't know much about peppers, so I can't advise on that. But I think the bigger the pepper the more powerful the taste.

By Adilanylkoorb on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 09:13 am:

I personally don't care much for tomatoes, so would work if I only used one can of the diced tomatoes OR only 1 or 1 1/2 cans of the tomato sauce? Which would you prefer that I do.

By Adilanylkoorb on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 09:20 am:

Also should I buy a can of kidney beans to add to the recipe? I don't know if I've ever had kidney beans, but I figure they'd be okay.

I plan on cooking this for around five and a half to six hours. Would I need to cook it on low? I have a warmer on my crockpot, so I thought about setting the time to turn to warm after about six hours. But this is a new crockpot, so I will have to figure out how to set the timer.

By Annie2 on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 09:22 am:

I would stay with the two cans of petite diced tomatoes. They will mush up and will work better in the crockpot. The diced chilies I mentioned are peppers and will give your chili a nice flavor. You may have to add some salt and pepper but you can do that when you get home.

By Annie2 on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 09:24 am:

Oh and looking at your sizes, I would only add one can of the tomatoe sauce but add one full can of water.

By Kaye on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 11:03 am:

In texas you don't put any beans in chili So really chili is all about making it like you like it.

For sizes, when I do 4 pounds of beef, I add 2- 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce, and then the same amount of water.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 11:09 am:

I add beans and noodles to my chili and NO peppers! LOL! If it was too hot, only DH would eat it! I do add 3 tablespoons of chili powder, though.

By Adilanylkoorb on Friday, December 14, 2007 - 01:24 pm:

Thanks for the suggestions. I think this should turn out okay. I forgot to mention this in my OP but my SIL's recipe also calls for 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 chopped onion. I don't care for onions, so I'll probably just add 1/2 or 1/3 of the onion. My main concern now is it turning out too watery or too thick.

I plan on cooking this in the crockpot for around five and a half to six hours. Would I need to cook it on low? I have a warmer on my crockpot, so I thought about setting the time to turn to warm after about six hours. But this is a new crockpot, so I will have to figure out how to set the timer.

By Adilanylkoorb on Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 09:32 am:

Can I cook this on low in the crockpot for around 6 hours?

By Annie2 on Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 09:51 am:

Yes, that sounds perfect. That's what I do with mine. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

By Luvn29 on Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 01:07 pm:

The sugar will also neutralize some of the tomato flavor. That would explain why she can use so much.

And as Annie said, low will be great!

By Adilanylkoorb on Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 10:36 pm:

I'm fixing this tomorrow and I just realized that what I bought is a slow cooker instead of a crockpot. Is that going to make any difference in how I cook it?

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 10:56 pm:

Aren't slow cookers and crockpots the same thing?

By Adilanylkoorb on Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 11:02 pm:

That’s what I was thinking, but I just wanted to be sure.

By Luvn29 on Sunday, December 16, 2007 - 08:07 am:

Crockpot is just a brand name for a slow cooker.

By Adilanylkoorb on Sunday, December 16, 2007 - 04:16 pm:

The chili turned out good. Everything else when well too.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, December 16, 2007 - 08:42 pm:

Yum! I love chili!