Autumn Chili

When the cool breeze lends itself to a light sweater and scarf, it's time to break out the large Dutch oven and warm up the house with some chili! I'm a big fan of one pot stews and usually end up with more than I intended because more and more goes into the pot. So feel free to substitute/add/subtract any ingredients below. Make it your own based on what you have in the kitchen or what inspires you!

1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can dark red kidney beans, no salt added, rinsed, drained
1 can black beans, no salt added, rinsed, drained
1 can sweet corn, no salt or sugar added, drained
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained*
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce*
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

*I had about two cups leftover roasted red pepper tomato soup that I used as a base for this chili. If I didn't have that, I'd used this amount of tomatoes and tomato sauce.

In large saucepan, brown meat with onion and garlic until onion is tender; drain fat. Stir in beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil, garlic salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for about 20 minutes while you clean up. Garnish with shredded cheese or green onions or sour cream or whatever you can think of! Serve hot with corn bread or grilled cheese sandwiches or in this case we made corn tortilla cheese quesadillas!