Get a big pot (I call it a stew pot, it should comfortably hold anywhere from 6 - 10 quarts) and heat some oil in the bottom. I like to use bacon fat, but maybe that's not your thing. Any kind of fat will do.

While your fat is heating, dice your onions. I like a lot of onion. Once your pot and fat is suitably hot, throw all of your diced onion in and heat until translucent.

While you're waiting for the onion to cook, start cutting your celery and carrots and set aside.

Once translucent, add your garlic. I like to let a little of the onion caramelize at this point, but not all of it.

After your onion has finished cooking, add your dry spices and mix thoroughly.

Add the ground beef, breaking it up as needed. I tend to use a lean ground beef so I don't need to drain it. It's a lazy thing, not a healthy thing.

Once your ground beef is roughly half-cooked, add the celery and onions, again, mixing thoroughly. The beef will continue to cook, and if you've used lean ground beef, then you won't need to drain it.

Add both cans of tomatoes. I like to add ⅛ - ½ cup of water to each and give it a swirl to get all the tomato-y goodness out of them. That gives you the extra liquid you need to!

Bring to a boil, then cover and drop to a simmer.

I like to simmer this for 45 - 60 minutes. It isn't necessary, but it does let it blend a little better. It can set for longer on "keep warm" or "low" or whatever your stove top calls "1". If you find it's evaporated too much just stir in some more water. If you already added too much water, bring it back up to a simmer, uncovered, and let it boil off.