Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add your diced onion, green bell pepper, and minced garlic, then sauté for 3-4 minutes until the veggies start to soften. You'll know it's ready when the onion gets a little translucent around the edges.

Crumble the ground beef into the skillet and break it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the smoked turkey strips and cook for about 5-6 minutes until the beef is mostly browned (it doesn't need to be perfectly cooked since it'll finish in the slow cooker). Don't drain the fat—that's where the flavor lives.

Transfer the beef mixture to your crockpot, scraping all those brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add both cans of drained kidney beans and black beans, stirring everything together for about 30 seconds.

Pour in the crushed tomatoes and beef broth, then add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir until the spices are completely distributed and nothing's sitting at the bottom of the pot. Trust me on this—uneven spice distribution means some bites will be bland.

Cover your crockpot and set it to low for 6 hours. Resist the urge to peek constantly (I learned this the hard way—every time you lift that lid, you add about 15 minutes to cook time). Let it just do its thing without interruption.

At the 6-hour mark, give it a good stir and taste a spoonful. If you want the chili thicker, leave the lid off for the last 20-30 minutes on low heat. This lets some liquid evaporate and concentrates all those flavors even more.

Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheddar cheese, diced onions, or cornbread crumbles. Serve hot and watch everyone come back for seconds—this slow cooker chili recipe easy approach always leaves people wondering how you made something this good.