Crock-Pot Chili
A Classic Comfort Food Recipe for a Cold Winter Evening
Chili con Carne is said to actually be a product of Texas, rather than Mexico, and is usually made with either chunks of beef or ground beef. I like the thick, hearty, meaty consistency you get with ground beef, and I often use this chili recipe for nachos and in chili burritos -- yum! Roll up some sharp cheddar cheese and a couple spoonfuls of thick chili in a tortilla, sprinkle with more cheese and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. I like a crispy shell and eat it with my hands in true comfort food style.
One of my favourite ways to spend a grey fall day is to cook up a batch of a variety of comfort foods. Chili con Carne and Spaghetti Bolognese sauce have so many ingredients in common that I often make a batch of each at the same time. I brown enough ground beef for both and finely chop veggies for both in one fell swoop in the food processor. Then I split up the beef and all the veggies between the two before adding the herbs and seasoning for each unique dish. If you chop the veggies very finely, you get extra flavour and wholesome nutrition for the chili without altering the desired meaty, thick texture. The kids'll never know they're getting their veggies, and you get two great comfort foods for the time of one!
Ingredients
Tip:
Generally, crock-pot slow-cooking provides intense flavouring and vegetables provide alot of their own liquid. If you find this chili too thin, remove the lid and turn the crock-pot to high for the last hour of cooking.
- Ground Beef, 1 1/2 lbs, browned and drained of excess grease
- Red Kidney Beans (19 oz can) -- (I sometimes like the extra texture of Mixed Beans, with chick peas, red kidney and romano beans and black-eyed peas)
- Diced plum tomatoes (14 oz, reserve the juice and add to thin if desired during simmering)
- Onion, 1 small, finely chopped
- Garlic, 4 cloves, finely crushed
- Mexican Chili Powder - 6 tbsp**
- Cumin - 1 1/2 tbsp
- Ground Coriander, 1/2 tsp
- Pinch each of: oregano, parsley, basil, celery salt
- Seasoned Salt, 2 tsp
- Fresh ground pepper, 1 tbsp
- Cayenne Pepper, 1 1/2 tsp
- Worschestershire, 1-2 tbsp
- Chili flakes, 2 tsp
- Dried Bay Leaf, 1
- In this recipe, I used about a half to a cup each of very finely chopped:
- green pepper
- red pepper
- carrot
- mushrooms
- zucchini
Cooking Method
- Mix all ingredients in the crock-pot.
- Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours (or simmer very low on stove top, partially covered for 2 -3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Add a half to one tablespoon of fresh chopped cilantro about an hour before the end of cooking time, if desired
**I've found that the type of chili powder you use makes a big difference. Try to get a nice, rich looking Mexican chili powder, which isn't necessarily hot-spicy. Most of the heat in this chili recipe actually comes from the cayenne pepper and chili flakes, which you can adjust to your taste - the amount I've used here gave a mild-medium heat.
