CrockPot Cincinnati-style Chili

To be perfectly honest, I've never eaten Cincinnati Chili in Cincinnati so I'm not entirely sure what true Cincinnati Chili is. However, our friends had us over for dinner and made it and after that we were hooked–at least on what we thought was Cincinnati Chili–I just don't know since I've never had it in Cincinnati.  (I include this because my family once had "Chicago-style Pizza" when we were in Denver, CO, and it was NOT Chicago-style pizza. It was in fact terrible.) I believe two key ingredients in Cincinnati Chili are chocolate and cinnamon, so with that understanding the recipe below can at least qualify as "Cincinnati-style".

After our friends had us over I found the recipe "Cincinnati-style Chili Casserole" in my slow cooker cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes Volume 2. (This cookbook is how I survived going back to work full-time when Auggie was 6 weeks old.) The recipe I'm making for dinner tonight, however, is a modified version (surprise!) of this recipe. One of the things I don't cook with is instant beef bouillon, an ingredient this recipe calls for, because it is chock-full of MSG. (As an aside, if you don't know how bad MSG is for you or how prevalent it is–it's in nearly everything–check out this web site: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/) I also thought it could use some extra spices and whatnot. So after a Cincinnati Chili Google search and some recipe reviewing, I pieced together the following crockpot recipe.

Ingredients

• 2lbs ground beef
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 26-oz jar pasta sauce 
• I had 3/4 a bottle in the refridgerator, so I used that with an additional 8oz can of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water or broth
• I used chicken broth since once again we had some in the fridge. Beef broth would probably be a better choice. I use the Kitchen Basics brand since they swear over and over on their packaging that MSG is neither used nor created when they make their broth. 
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp chocolate pieces
• I used baking chocolate since it's milk-free, but I'm sure any would be fine
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• I added more later since I want it to be tangy
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice

• spaghetti noodles 
• I have whole wheat rotini in the pantry so I think I'll end up using that since the noodle shape holds sauce so nicely

Sides

• shredded cheese
• chopped onions
• kidney beans (can also be cooked in crockpot, but Dan's not a huge fan so I'm skipping them)
• oyster crackers

Preparation
Brown ground beef in a frying pan, and cook onions and garlic along side beef.

Put beef mixture into crockpot, add everything else except for the noodles, and mix thoroughly. 

Cook in crockpot on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Cook noodles according to directions. Serve chili on top of noodles with sides.

Comments
Brilliantly, both sets of measuring spoons were in the running dishwasher while I prepared this recipe, so I ended up approximating all of my measurements–which I probably would have done to some extent anyway. Also, since Auggie kindly motivated me to get out of bed by 7am this morning, I actually prepared this before going to Bible study and thus get to cook something in the crockpot on low for once.

The Verdict: A Keeper
Dan loves this dish. (I'm sensing a pattern here - he seems to love hearty dishes with ground beef, some sort of absorbent ingredient like pasta or cornbread, and a tomato-based sauce. Tamale Pie, for instance, or Chimichangas (recipe coming soon).) ... I think it's pretty tasty myself, although because it is so hearty I probably could eat it about once a month and not more, especially if other such hearty dishes are making the rounds as well. Serving it with a salad on the side is a must in my opinion.