• Wash and dry produce. • Halve, core, and dice green pepper into 1/2-inch pieces. Peel and mince or grate garlic. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. Place scallion greens in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until ready to serve.

• Set a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker to the sauté/brown setting and add a large drizzle of oil. Once oil is hot, add beef*, green pepper, garlic, scallion whites, Southwest Spice Blend, Mexican Spice Blend, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, breaking meat up into pieces, until browned and mostly cooked through, 3-5 minutes. • Stir in tomato paste and cook until slightly darkened, 1-2 minutes. TIP: No sauté setting on your slow cooker? No problem! Follow the same instructions using a large pan over medium-high heat, then transfer contents to slow cooker at the end of this step.

• If there’s excess grease in your slow cooker, carefully pour or spoon it out. Stir in stock concentrates, beans and their liquid, and crushed tomatoes. Cover and increase heat to high; cook until tomatoes break down, beef is cooked through, and flavors meld, 4-6 hours. • Taste and season with salt and pepper.

• Once chili is ready to serve, dice tomato into 1/2-inch pieces. Lightly crush tortilla chips in bag. • Serve chili, scallion greens, tomato, tortilla chips, red pepper crema, and cheddar family style and let everyone build their own chili bowl! Ground beef is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.