I’m not a ketchup girl. Never could get used to the stuff, so instead of ketchup, I improvised with a tablespoon of tomato paste, and threw in some diced red and yellow bell peppers I had in the freezer.

Then…added a little red wine and water, instead of straight water.

Didn’t stop at one chili (half recipe, there’s only two of us) – oh no, I had to go whole hog and add three.

Browned the meat first.

And didn’t use a dutch oven at all. Hello slow cooker. Threw it on high for 2-3 hours…nope, not done enough. Tossed it down to low, tasted it…wondered if I was a little too happy with the chilis – and waved at it good night.

Woke up to heavenly beef.
The chili’s mellowed out, but still had a bite.