There are bean haters in my house, so I puree the beans ( kidney and beans in tomato sauce) before adding them. It adds a lot of body to the chili. I use ground beef, saute onions, celery and bell peppers with the ground beef before draining it, a can of diced tomatoes, some tomato paste, a bit of sugar to cut the acidity in the tomatoes, then add altogether with the beans and season with chili powder, seasoning salt a bit of garlic and let simmer.
Watson