Quick and Easy Chili

I've used the same basic recipe for this forever.  It's something you can throw together in 15-20 minutes for dinner or put into a crockpot and let cook all day.  You can use it to make chili dogs, serve it over fritos for homemade gutbusters or just have a bowl of it all by itself.  I made this just last night.  One of these days I will fiddle with it and try adding more stuff to it, but I haven't yet.  Why mess with a good thing?

Chili
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- dash pepper
- 1 large can chili beans
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 small can tomato paste
- shredded cheddar cheese and/or diced onions for garnish

Brown ground beef in deep skillet, adding the onion, garlic, chili powder and pepper to the meat.  Cook until meat is done and onions transparent. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.  You can warm it all together on the stovetop or put it in a crockpot on low for a few hours.  I opt not to add more heat to the chili since the kids don't like it too spicy, but you can add hot pepper sauce or dried cayenne pepper to make it hotter.