Very good basic chili. Like many others, I only used one can of tomato soup, and I added 2 cans of diced tomatoes with the juice. My beans were 1 can black beans, 2 cans red kidney beans, drained. I also added half a bag of frozen corn, which added nice color and texture. Spice-wise I only did 1 tablespoon of chili powder since my 5 year old doesn't like spice. I also forgot to add the onion in the crockpot, but I chopped it up and added it to the top of my individual bowl, along with shredded cheddar cheese and some crumbled Fritos corn chips. I'll definitely make it again, although I'll be hunting for something to add to give it a little more flavor.

Reviewed On: Dec. 27, 2009

5 star dish, no question. The only change I made was to substitute equal amounts of canned chicken stock in place of the water. The only change I will make next time is to not add the crumbled bacon before the liquid and subsequent simmer, as it makes the bacon sort of soggy, and doesn't add much (since the veggies are sauteed in bacon grease to start with). In turn, I will crumble the bacon and add it atop each bowl at serving. A wonderful dish, which I served with canned flaky biscuits, perfect for dunking and sopping up.

Reviewed On: Dec. 21, 2009

NOTE: I didn't do the corn with this. Just did the crab in the measurements as listed, but that shouldn't alter the recipe enough to taint the rating. It tasted like buttery crab with a hint of garlic. Which, on the surface, is exactly what the recipe calls for. So I'll average it out on 3 starts. However, it's nothing to write home about. With the work and prep, it'd just be easier to make a drawn garlic butter out of the ingredients, steam the crab as per normal, and just use the crab meat as a Buttery Delivery System. Less buttery shells, less of a mess of your larger pots, and just easier all around.

Reviewed On: Dec. 21, 2009