Mom's Slow Cooked Chili

This is a recipe of my mother's - she made this for my family when I was child.  I made this the night before and stored it in the fridge.  In the morning, I just placed the crock into the cooker and turned it on for 9 hours (then my cooker automatically switches to the "keep warm" setting.  My husband said the whole house smelled great when he came home :-) 

Ingredients 
1 lb of lean ground beef or turkey
2 cans of dark kidney beans
2 cans of pinto beans 
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
1 can of a chili starter (or a chili starter pouch)
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced

1. Brown the beef with the onion and pepper until cooked through.  If there is excess fat, be sure to drain it off.
2. Add the beef mixture to the slow cooker along with the tomatoes and chili starter and stir thoroughly.  
3. Cook this mixture on low for 7-10 hours.
4. Rinse the beans thoroughly to remove excess salt.  Add them to the slow cooker in the last 60-30 minutes of your cooking time.  You can even add them when they are on the "keep warm" setting.
5. If you choose to cook for a shorter period, you may cook the beef mixture along with the beans for 4 hours on high.

See my earlier post for slow cooker tips: http://bonappetitrichmond.weebly.com/1/post/2012/01/spiced-braised-beef-with-sweet-potatoes.html