Country of origin: Northern Mexico/Southern Texas, USA

This savory and hearty soup was considered the working man and woman's meal of the 1800's in what is today northern Mexico and southern Texas. This particular recipe comes from my own mama's kitchen. It's heavy in nutritious vegetables and packed with flavor.

I was inspired to make this recipe this week, as I had a visitor in NYC from San Francisco who was kind enough to bring me a fresh loaf of sourdough from Boudin Bakery **drool**. That said, I highly recommend picking up a fresh loaf of bread to serve with this chili.

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef (90/10)
• 1 medium white onion, diced  
• 2-3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes 
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can tomato puree 
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
• 1 (15-19 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. original Tabasco sauce
• Chopped fresh parsley, ~1/4 cup or to taste 

Directions:

1. Place the beef in a skillet over medium heat, cook until brown. I don't drain the fat since I use lean beef, but if you use standard 80/20 beef, drain the fat.
2. Place the cooked beef in a slow cooker and mix in onion, celery, bell peppers, garlic, roasted tomatoes with sauce, tomato puree, kidney beans, cannellini beans and corn. Season with chili powder, basil, oregano, pepper, Tabasco and fresh parsley.
3. Stir all ingredients together lightly
4. Cover and cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high