Beef and Bean Chili

I should warn you now.  I never measure out my ingredients for chili and some of the base ingredients change depending on what I have on hand at home.  I taste and tweak the spices until it tastes how I like it (although I've had to dumb down the heat because my kids can't handle "spicy").  My chili never is the same twice.  That being said, here are the ingredients I used to make chili yesterday.  Tweak it to your tastes.  You can add another large can of beans (kidney, black, pintos) and omit the beef if you want it to be vegetarian. You can also substitute jarred salsa for the tomatoes.

1 pound ground beef
2 bell peppers, diced
1 onion, diced
~ 2 cloves minced garlic
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 can medium spice red chili beans
1 large can black beans
2 cans of mild Rotel tomatoes and chilis + 1 can water
1 tomato, diced
chili powder (probably about 1 tsp)
cumin powder (probably about 1 tsp)
celery salt (probably about 1/4 tsp)
chipotle chili powder (probably about 1 tsp...if you don't have this, use more regular chili powder)
dried oregano (probably about 1/4 tsp)
4-5 chocolate chips (weird, yes, but it helps give the chili a little depth and cuts some of the acidity)
salt and pepper to taste

While browning the beef in a large pot, add the peppers, onion, garlic, and celery.  Once the beef is browned and the veggies are tender, add the beans and tomatoes.  Stir in the spices and chocolate and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes.  The longer this cooks, the better.  Periodically taste to adjust spice to taste.  If you like a soupier chili, you can add water, salsa, or tomato juice (no more than 1/2 cup at a time).  Chili is even better the next day, so you can make the day before.