Warm up with some chili

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this one yet! This chili is super-easy and has become one of our mainstays. You can serve it over rice, but I typically serve it all on its own. As with other potentially spicy dishes, I’ve become accustomed to toning this down on the stovetop and allowing people to heat it up according to personal taste with hot sauce at the table.
The bean/lentil choice often comes down to which one we happen to have in the cupboard at the time, or what the rest of the week features. One other option is to use both and eliminate the ground round – or if you’re doubling the recipe, you can use beans, and lentils, and ground round – yummy protein!
Tonight we enjoyed this with a bottle of Petalos, a nice Spanish red, but it goes well with lots of our favourites – just choose a medium-bodied red.
adapted from Rose Elliot’s Complete Vegetarian

1 large onion chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp oil, or a generous spray
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
28-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can beans or lentils, drained and rinsed (see note above; beans are typically red kidney, but anything goes!)
1 package ground round
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp chili (or more, if you’re not toning it down)
Saute onion and pepper in the oil for about ten minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and let simmer for about 20 minutes on low heat.
That’s it!
You can also do this in a slow-cooker – I recommend frying the onion and pepper in advance, then toss everything in the cooker and cook on LOW for about 3 hours. If you’re a bread-machine convert, you can thrown in a loaf and have both ready at the same time, for a truly warming feast.