The perfect chili for a cold day :)

So today was a colder day than it had been in the last week or so, and I decided a big pot of chili would be perfect. I found a simple recipe on the McCormick website and made it my own. I can't remember which one it was (I'm pretty sure it was the american chili recipe) and followed it...a little. It said it would make for 5, 1cup servings. I decided, nah, we're broke and low on groceries, I'll make a big pot. What I didn't realize was how amazing it would turn out. This is how I made it.

In a big, tall standing pot, I mixed:

-1 box of mini (cooked, of course)
-roughly 2 pounds of lean hamburger (or turkey, or meat of your choice. And cooked.)
-5 tsp. of cumin
-3 cans of dark red kidney beans (mostly drained)
-3 cans of Hunt's diced tomatoes (28oz cans)
[The following spices I didn't measure, I just added as I saw fit. Add as much or as little as you want.]
-Italian seasoning
-Cayenne pepper (I didn't realize we didn't have chili powder)
-Onion powder
-Basil
-Garlic salt

I cooked this between a low and medium heat for roughly 30 minutes, mixing throughout. The amount of spice in there was absolutely. perfect. The cayenne pepper blended so perfectly I couldn't believe I had done so well. Especially with an upset stomach and headache from being sick since last Thursday.

Anyways, here's what my pot looked like, (3 bowls in) I just wish you could smell this, too.

And that's still half full! This will cover the next at least weeks worth of meals. I'm so glad I decided to do this. My husband really loved it, which of course made me happy. He told me not to give too much away so he can eat it, haha. If you try this out, let me know how you like it! I love hearing feedback from people trying out/using my ideas. It makes me happy to make other people happy.

I hope you all have a warm, good rest of your week!
~Namaste~