I have been on a fresh tomato kick lately. Although my dog tries to eat my backyard tomatoes before I can harvest them, I have been getting boxes of tomatoes from local farmers to freeze and put away for the winter. The other day, when I needed an easy school night meal to make ahead of time, knew I wanted to use some of the tomatoes I had just prepared. If you have fresh tomatoes on hand, it is very easy to get them ready to be used in a crockpot chili. Why use canned if you are still lucky enough to be surrounded by fresh produce?!