Crockpot of Chili

I love chili. On a cool night what better way to spend it than with a hot bowl of chili, a blanket and a movie! It’s even better the next day, too.

This has a ton of variations  – items can be added or deleted. I am posting my basic chili recipe here, then scroll down to read my tips!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of lean, organic turkey of beef (omit to make vegan)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and dices
• 1-2 medium jalapeño, seeded and diced
• 2 cloves garlic or 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 can tomato paste, 6 oz can
• 1 large can whole tomatoes with juice, quartered
• 7 cups kidney/pinto beans soaked overnight, or 2-3 cans of kidney/pinto beans with liquid.
• 2-3 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• hot sauce (sriracha) to taste

Heat olive oil in large skillet with half of the onion, all of the garlic and half jalapeño. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add meat, if using, and brown. Salt and pepper to taste. When meat is browned, add the remainder of onion, jalapeño and bell pepper. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the mixture to a crock pot/slow cooker.

Turn you crock pot to the highest heat. Add beans to crock pot and stir together. Then add 2 cups of water water, spices, tomatoes, tomato paste and cilantro. Blend well and cover.

Check every half hour, stirring. After 2 hours taste to see if you need salt and pepper or more spice.

It will take 6-7 hours to fully cook. Do not add flour as the chili will thicken the last few hours of cooking.

Serve with cornbread or a salad. Garnish with fresh cilantro, cheese or avocado.

Serves 6-8 people.

TIPS & HINTS:

The jalapeno doesn’t add spice, only flavor. When I want to spice it up I add chili flakes, sriracha (hot sauce) or use your own favorite way to spice up food. Add a small amount at a time and taste 30 minutes later. Use this same technique with salt and pepper, onion powder(optional) and garlic powder. I never use the same amount for each batch.

When soaking the beans over night, do not measure out 7 cups as the beans will expand. 4-5 cups will be plenty of beans for soaking. I use a mixture of pinto and kidney beans. You can even use black beans if desired.

Enjoy!