Can't find the time to make a delicious dinner or feel like you can't cook?  Making an easy, tasty dinner doesn't have to mean slaving over a hot stove all day long. For a delicious crock pot chili, many chili recipes can be thrown together in a few minutes and cooked for under an hour, or alternatively, you can use a crock pot.

Health food stores and online retailers both offer textured vegetable protein (TVP).

Instructions for a basic "super easy chili" are included.

Choose about a pound of ground sirloin, season with salt and pepper, if you are using ground beef. Stir the meat and cook it in either a crock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until it is done. To lower the fat content, you can drain the fat off or use a baster to remove grease without removing the meat.

The recipe should include the following ingredients:

A decent chili recipe can be made by adding anything you have in your pantry and refrigerator as long as it compliments the general flavor. For a delicious variation, mix one pound of ground sirloin with the following spices:

 Half a teaspoon of salt

One fourth of a teaspoon of pepper.

One-half teaspoon of cumin

Two and a half teaspoons of chili powder

Add a 15-ounce can of rinsed and drained kidney beans, 1-2 tablespoons of ketchup, and 1 1/2 cups of water to the mixture. To the recipe, add two 10-ounce cans of tomatoes (undrained). To the recipe, add two 10-ounce cans of tomatoes (undrained).

To make chili quickly and easily, combine all the ingredients, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. After letting the chili sit in the pot for 15 minutes to absorb more flavors and improve even further, proceed.

Stirring the chili powder and cumin into the meat first, followed by a sauté, will provide a little refinement before adding the remaining ingredients to the dish.

Varying a piece of music can create interest.

If you want a dish that's lower in saturated fat, you can substitute textured vegetable protein for the meat, or you can also add ground turkey instead of ground beef.

To give the recipe above a more "Italian" flavor, add half a cup of chopped red bell pepper, half a teaspoon of dried oregano, and five cloves of chopped garlic. To the cooked meat, add the garlic and red bell pepper, stirring for three to four minutes, and then add the remaining ingredients with this variation.

You can add up to two 4-ounce cans of green chilies, drained and rinsed, for an extra kick in addition to the tomatoes already included. If you desire a milder chili, you can omit the chilies entirely and use tomatoes that do not have any green chilies included.

Chili is meant to be a self-invented recipe to some extent, even though these are pretty basic instructions. See what you can create by using ingredients already in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer for some fun! Make sure to have fun and be creative - it's meant to be easy!