Is there anything better than getting home from work, opening up the front door, and entering a house that smells like someone has been slaving away in the kitchen all day? Probably. But in that moment when you open the door it doesn't seem like it. Plus, chili really needs to sit for a long time so that the flavors have a chance to develop, which makes slow cooking ideal. And then it's even better the next day as leftovers. Poor Buster has to sit in the house and smell it cooking all day, and then he doesn't even get to eat any. Must be tough.
The reason this is BBQ chili instead of normal chili is because it has BBQ sauce in it, which makes the flavor less spicy and more... smokey? Yes, smokey sounds good. It also adds sweetness, so I leave out the dash of sugar that I would normally put into chili (that and the V8 juice are secrets that my dad let me in on. Thanks, Dad!).
Most of the prep for this chili can be done the night before you actually make it so that you aren't running around like a headless chicken before work in the morning. I cook the meat, chop the veggies, get out the cooker, and put out all of the cans. I could probably rinse the beans, but I haven't gone that far yet. Either way, all you have to do in the morning is throw everything together and turn the cooker on. Easy!
Slow Cooker BBQ Chili
1 pound of ground beef or turkey 2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes 1 cup V8 juice 1 can of black beans, rinsed 1 can of kidney beans, rinsed 1 can of corn, rinsed 1 green pepper, chopped 1 onion, chopped 2 Tbsp chili powder (or more depending on taste) 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Cook the meat on the stove top and put into the slow cooker. This might not be completely necessary since it will be cooking all day, but the idea of having raw meat (especially turkey) sitting in the slow cooker kind of scares me. Rinse the beans and add them into the pot. Then add all of the other ingredients and close the lid. Cook on low for 8 hours, or however long your workday is. Mine was on for 10ish hours.
Don't open the slow cooker while it is cooking! I've heard that every time you open the top it adds 30 minutes onto the total cooking time. And with how good this stuff smells, you won't want to be adding time on at the end!
