Hi Retta, 

We often get inquiries from folks who want to can specific recipes their families have developed for salsas, spaghetti sauce, stews, or chili. Unfortunately it's usually not safe to can using a recipe from home, and the Extension recommendation is that you either use a tested recipe from the USDA or the National Center for Home Food Preservation, or you make your own recipe and freeze it instead of canning. 

Canning instructions depend on a few different variables to ensure safety, including pH, available moisture in the product, density, and the ratio of  liquids to solids. Products that are not highly acidic, including chili, are especially risky because these foods can allow for the bacteria that cause botulism to grow and produce deadly toxins. These products must be processed in a pressure canner. To prevent the bacteria that cause botulism from growing, recipes for low acid foods are designed and then repeatedly tested in a pressure canner with temperature probes to make sure that sufficient heat penetrates every bit of food in the jar for long enough to kill the spores. 

With home-designed recipes, we have no way of knowing what the pH of the product is, how heat will move through the product during canning, and how long it will take for the heat to penetrate each bit of food. In some cases, it takes a very long time for heat to penetrate chunks of meat, and processing times can be 90 minutes or higher. Canning an untested recipe is like rolling the dice; you cannot guarantee that the processing time will be sufficient for the product. For this reason, we advise home canners to stick to tested recipes that will produce safe results when the instructions are followed.

When following a tested recipe for chili, like the one posted on the National Center for Home Food Preservation's website, you can safely adjust the dry spices to your taste preference, but you should not alter the proportions of meat, vegetables, or liquids. North Dakota State University Extension has created a useful handout with a list of ways that canning recipes in general can be modified, and you can access that page here. 

Thanks for using Ask Extension!

Jared