This was originally Boilermaker Tailgate Chili from All Recipes but I changed a few things to suit our tastes. I have two children who don't like any heat in their food at all so I had to change the spicy ingredients and instead of putting in hot pepper sauce and cayenne pepper, and as much chili powder as they said, I replaced all of that with cocoa powder. It really made it a very tastey chili with the sense that it's going to be spicy when you take a bit - but there is no follow-up kick. It's REALLY good.
Annie's Crockpot Chili
2 lbs. ground beef chuck
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
3 (15 oz) cans chili beans, drained (I'll use a variety of beans for this)
1 (15 oz) can chili beans in sauce
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp. bacon bits
4 cubes beef bouillon
1/2 cup beer
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. white sugar
1 bag corn chips such as Fritos
1 (8 oz) package shredded Cheddar cheese
1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease and add to crockpot.
2. Pour in the remaining in the remaining ingredients except chips and cheese. Stir to blend. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.
3. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with corn chips and cheddar cheese.
