Possum Lodge Firehouse Chili Con Carne With Beans - Crock Pot

This was really easy and tasted very good but better yet, my DS who doesn't really like chili decided it was the best chili to make chili dogs with and now we have a hit! The only thing I did differently was cook the pinto beans from scratch with some garlic, onions and some Chacere's and a little red pepper flakes. This made the chili a little spicier, I imagine, but we liked it. So I am giving it 5 stars because one of my pet peeves on RZ is people who substitute (sometimes inferior) ingredients and then give a lesser rating because they didn't really like it! That reads wrong...I am giving it 5 stars because it worked for us!

I made this recipe with some substitutions because I wanted it to be meatless. I omitted the ground chuck. Instead, I added 2-15 oz. cans of kidney beans. Before serving, I like to mash the beans some with a potato masher to thicken it up a bit. It's a little more like a bean soup, but I like it this way. I'm sure it is good with the ground chuck, but the hamburger always attacks my guts and gives me bad gas. Even with all the beans and beer, I don't get gassy from my modified version of this recipe. I've made this one 3 times now and always enjoy it.