I'm sure you've got a million recipes for chili already, and I'm sure many of those recipes are more authentic or more whatever. But this is the recipe that brings my family back for seconds and thirds. I perfected it myself.
2½ lb ground beef
1 green pepper, chopped in small dice
1 onion, chopped in small dice
2 stalks celery, chopped in small dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ C flour
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large can whole tomatoes, undrained, roughly chopped into 3 or 4 pieces each
1 14½ oz can beef broth + 1 can of water
4 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
chili powder
Sauté ground beef, pepper, onion, celery, and garlic over medium high heat until beef loses its pinkness. Stir in flour and thoroughly combine. Dump in crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, beef broth and water, and kidney beans. Season to taste with chili powder (for us, that means just about all of a 2½ oz container of chili powder), salt, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low to medium low for an hour or two.
Serve with some, all, or none of the following: rice, shredded cheese, hot cornbread, chopped onion, more hot sauce, crackers, noodles.