Thrown Together Chili

Literally.  When I created this about 2 months ago, it was completely on the fly and I didn't really have all the traditional chili makins.  Sooooo I did what I always do, make do with what I DID have.  It was a small batch (compared to the normal amount that I would cook) so it didn't take me more than 30 minutes to prep my veg, brown the meat, open the cans and get everything simmering. I later adapted that recipe to accommodate for a larger yield.

Nothing about it is exact, it all depends on how much or how little you want to make, I always plan for leftovers so the specs I'm about to give you will definitely give you chili for a week (depending on your portion sizes). You can add to or take away what you don't want/like:

1-2 pounds of ground beef (I usually use the lean, less grease to drain)
3 cans of tomato sauce
3 cans of navy (northern) beans, drained and rinsed (they hold up better than you think and they don't have all those skins)
3 cans of sweet corn (partially drained)
2 cans of rotel (I first used the one that has green chile, lime and cilantro in it, you can also get the one that has chili seasoning in it or mix and match) don't drain
2 decent sized bell peppers, diced small
2 medium white onions, diced small
2 mid sized garlic cloves, minced
1 quarter to 1 half of fresh jalapeno, seeded, diced as fine as you can get it
Salt, to taste
Cumin, to taste
Chili powder, to taste (if you used chili seasoning, taste it first)
Pinch of sugar (mainly for the corn but it lends to the finished product too)
1 good squirt of ketchup (cuts the strong tomato acidic taste, gives a little sweetness)

Brown your meat first, drain it and remove it from your pot. That elusive little bit of grease left behind, plus 1 tblsp olive/veggie oil and 1 small chunk of butter (so your oil doesn't get too hot and your veggies don't caramelize) goes in behind it, throw in your onion and bell pepper. Let them sweat for about 3 minutes or until they're turning clear and add the garlic and the jalapeno. Sweat for about 5 more minutes. Add beef back to pot, then start dumping in your cans, beans, salt, cumin, chili powder, sugar and ketchup.

If you don't have enough volume or it's REALLY thick, add water till you've got the consistency you want. Taste and re-season as needed. I tend to have to add a lot of chili powder and cumin. Cumin gives it the smokey background flavor I crave in chili.

Let it come to a low boil, let it go at that temp for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn't settle and stick.
Taste test it again, make sure it doesn't need anything else. If it's still too tangy for you, go for another squirt of ketchup or another couple of pinches of sugar. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 15 minutes (or until your side dishes are done).

If it thins out too much by the time it's done, which mine usually does, I add a cornstarch slurry of 1 tablspoon cornstarch to enough water to dissolve, and bring it back to a boil till it's back up to the thickness I want.  

Serve and enjoy
Yield : quite a lot, bring your A game people