Chili

[oddprofessor]

This isn't a remarkable recipe for chili at all, but it's really quite good and easy. It freezes well, too

Comments

[virginiadear]

First, I have to admit I've never made chili in a slow cooker, but I've done a lot of cooking over the course of my little life and I've learned it's very important to understand your ingredients and how they'll behave under given circumstances.
Spices break down over time, so replace yours every six months (or oftener); if subjected to heat, which is why you're advised never to store your spice jars *over* or very close to the stove; and during cooking, of course, when the heat is unavoidable.

Adding your spices late in the cooking process will preserve their culinary 'heat,' including that of the garlic.
Garlic becomes very mild, rather sweet and almost meek, when it's cooked slowly for a long period. Using more garlic, i.e., increasing the quantity of garlic, won't make any difference, or it won't make enough difference.
The "hot" spices can actually become bitter if they're cooked too long or at too high a heat (probably not a problem here, but the length of cooking time could be.)

I'd add the minced garlic, the chili powder, and the cumin and cayenne no more than an hour before serving time, and depending on how you like your chili, the chili powder, cumin and cayenne possibly closer to serving time than that.