We made chili last week, and it came out divinely. I had been making chili as separate beans/tomatoes/sauce and then adding in meat afterwards for my serving that I had forgotten how well they worked when cooked together.

I took a NY strip from Costco and ran it through the meat grinder, leaving all the fat intact, and lightly browned that in a skillet. Meanwhile, browned some onions and bell peppers in the crock pot, tossed in the beef along with only 2 beans (black beans and dark red kidney beans--maybe added a few leftover chickpeas too IIRC), and some smoked chipotles and diced tomatoes. Way less ingredients than I usually had used when making 5-bean chili for my wife when she wasn't eating meat... and that was the right call, as the beef and the chipotle worked very well together and let their flavors shine.