What a crock of chili!

I know that there are a million recipes for chili, and that many of them are for crock pots, and that what I'm about to put here is not an earth-shattering culinary achievement. But it was our first attempt at using our (seven-year-old, wedding present) crock pot to make chili, and it turned out to be quite delicious so I thought I'd share.

Crock Pot Chili
(A modified version of a recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook)

1.5 lbs. ground beef
2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
Two 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
One 15-oz. can tomato sauce
One 15-oz. can whole kernel sweet corn, drained
4 or 5 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Cook ground beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic in a large skillet or Dutch oven until ground beef is completely browned. Drain. Combine the ground beef mixture and everything else in the crock pot. Set to low and cook for 8 to 10 hours. Enjoy the fact that when you come home from work, it smells like someone has been cooking for you. Top with more raw chopped onion, sour cream, shredded cheese and oyster crackers if desired. Yum!

Note: I put in corn because my friend at work did this for a potluck lunch, and it was really good. Also, we are not big fans of beans in chili. But if you want to use beans, the original recipe just said to use two cans of drained kidney beans. The original recipe also did not have cumin in it, but I just like the flavor of cumin so I went for it.