One of my very favourite kitchen toys is my slow cooker. I love the idea of preparing a meal by throwing all the ingredients into the pot, plugging it in before I leave for school and coming home to a house that just smells amazing. In the last week I've used my slow cooker twice -- for chili and for soup. I wish I could say that I'm an adventurous slow cooker (I have cookbooks that say you can make anything from cheesecake to pasta) but I like to stick with what I've had success with -- and what's easiest. The first dish I ever made in my slow cooker (and which I continue to make whenever I am out of dinner inspiration) is chili. It's super healthy and simple and there is no way to screw it up. I only make it with beans (no beef) because it is hardy and filling enough without the meat. There is no specific recipe and some of the elements are a little different every time but here's the basic idea:
Lots of beans -- I usually put in about 4 cans of either red or white kidney beans, black beans, chick peas, and whatever canned mixed beans I have in my pantry.
A can (or two) of diced tomatoes
1 large onion
A few cloves of garlic
A red pepper or two (or any other bell peppers that I have lying around)
1 jalapeño pepper (but lately I have been using a couple of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
Pinch of cumin, chili pepper, salt and pepper
Mix everything together in the slow cooker and plug it in for four to six hours. About an hour before it's done, respice the mixture if you've used dried spices because their strength can fade if cooked too long. Top with some sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro and chopped green onion and you have a filling and healthy fibre-filled dinner. A bowl of this chili will taste even better for lunch the next day. Sorry for the vagueness of this recipe but no matter how much or how little of the ingredients you use, you can't screw up! If anybody has any ideas for other additions to this recipe to make it even better, let me know...
3 comments:
Your chili is my favorite dish of all time! The first time I tasted it, I knew you were "the one." I suppose that's proof that my stomach makes the decisions around here.
Honey, you inspired me to try a veggi chili in the slow cooker, and I did last night.
It was delicious, even Justin ate it. I used canned beans & tomatoes. I also added canned corn, a few bay leaves, dehydrated onions and spices (cumin, cayenne, chili powder, s&p) and served the whole thing 10 hours later with crusty french bread, sour cream and shredded cheddar.
I will definitely make it again, however I will try adding some veggie ground meat.
The prep time is less than 5 minutes.
Chili is so super fast and easy to make and there are so many variations. I'm so thrilled that you tried it and that Justin liked it!
The canned corn is a good idea. I will try that next time.
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