"I am a huge fan of chili and a slow cooker is a good way to do it. Having said that, I have some problems with this recipe.
1. NEVER use ground meat. Cube the beef into roughly 3/8" to 1/2" cubes. Easy enough if you put the meat in the freezer for about 45 minutes first and then go from slices to strips to cubes. Round seems to work out best for me. Now you don't have to get out a ruler and T-Square to measure cubes. This is peasant comfort food.
2. This needs a couple of fresh minced jalapenos.
3. I don't get the point of the tomato paste. I use good quality puree.
4. As a matter of personal taste, I use some fresh cillantro.
5. Adding a teaspoon of cumin and 1 to 2 tbs of brown sugar work very nicely.
Now go make some buttermilk corn bread."