Crock Pot Chili

This chili is rich and satisfying and the crock pot makes it so simple. I combined two recipes to make it my own. We eat it with good ol' saltine crackers, but it would also be great with cheese, sour cream, and fritos!

What You'll Need:
2 lbs. Ground Chuck
29 oz can Tomato Sauce
29 oz. can Kidney Beans (with liquid)
29 oz. can Pinto Beans (with liquid)
1 can Rotel
1 c. Diced Onion
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Cup Diced Celery
2 tsp. Cumin Powder
3 Tbs. Chili Powder (I would do a little less next time...it was too spicy for my daughter)
1 1/2 tsp. Black Ppepper
2 tsp. Salt
Water (about 1/2 cup-1 cup...eyeball it)

What You'll Do:
Brown the meat in skillet over medium heat, drain.
Put all ingredients in Crock Pot. Cover and cook on Low 10-12 hours or High 5-6 hours.

Taco Chili

Taco Soup is so good when it's cold outside. And, I love the fact that I usually have all the ingredients on hand and can just throw it all together in a matter of minutes. You can let it cook in a crock pot for hours or just cook it on the stove for about 30 minutes. I serve it with sour cream, shredded cheese and fritos.

What You'll Need:

1 lb. ground beef (I use round)

1 onion, chopped

1 can chili beans

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can corn, drained

1 can rotel

1 can diced tomatoes

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix

What You'll Do:

Sautee the onion in a little oil.

Add the meat and brown.

Drain the meat.

Add all other ingredients and cook on Med to Med-Hi for about 30 minutes.

Picante Black Bean Soup

This is my mother's recipe. She makes about three homemade soups every week, and this is one of my favorites. It couldn't be any more simple to make...just cook some bacon, sautee some onions, and then throw the rest in the pot. And, I promise, it tastes better than this picture makes it look! It's great with a loaf of good, crusty bread.

What You'll Need:

4 slices Bacon, diced
1 Onion, chopped

1 clove Garlic, minced

2 (15 oz) cans Black Beans
1 can Beef Broth

1 1/4 cups Water
3/4 cup Pace Picante Sauce

1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Salt

What you'll Do:

In a heavy pot, brown the bacon and remove.

Sautee the onion until tender.

Add the garlic and sautee just another minute.

Add the bacon back in with all other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.

Pork Chili with Cilantro and Lime

I got this recipe from GroovyGrl on the Nest. She won a chili cook-off with it and I can see why! It is very different from any chili I've ever had, but really good. The pork in it was so tender and the flavor from the cilantro gave it a great, unique taste. It did take quite some time to trim and cut up all the pork, but it was worth it in the end! I used a Boston Butt...the butcher told me that it's the same as a Pork Shoulder. Also, I omitted the scallions just because we don't like them. This chili is so perfect for cold weather...dig in!

What You'll Need:

1/2 pound sliced bacon

4 pound boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes, trimmed of fat

Salt and pepper

1 large white onion, chopped

1 to 2 fresh jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled

1/3 cup chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

32 ounces Chicken Broth

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
14.5 ounces can tomato puree

2 (19-ounce) cans small red beans, rinsed and drained (I used one can of kidney beans and one can of chili beans)
2 cups frozen Sweet Corn

1 Lime, juiced

1 cup Cilantro, Chopped

1 cup Scallions, sliced thin

What You'll Do:

Cook bacon in a 6 to 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, turning, until crisp. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain and pour off all but 4 tablespoons fat from pot and reserve the rest. Crumble bacon.

Pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper.

Heat bacon fat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking.

Brown pork on all sides in about 6 batches without crowding and transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate. If you see the pan is becoming to dry add more reserved bacon fat or vegetable oil.

Add onion and jalapenos and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened.

Add garlic, oregano, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne, then cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Return pork to pot with any juices accumulated on plate and add broth, bacon bits, tomato puree and tomatoes with juice.
Simmer chili, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until pork is very tender, about 2 hours. If Chili is becoming too thick add some water. Stir in beans and corn, bring to a simmer, stirring.
Right before serving finish w/ lime juice and cilantro, and top w/ scallions.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup was so yummy. It reminded me a little of Brunswick Stew, if you've ever had that before...only it is not as thick. It was really easy to make. Since it goes in the crockpot, the recipe calls for 2 uncooked, chopped chicken breasts, but I used a rotissere chicken from the store and just shredded the breast meat (thank you, RachelJohnson from the AL board, for this great idea!) Since I added cooked chicken, I turned the crockpot on low and cooked it for about 5 hours. I found this recipe on BMK's blog and it is originally from the Southern Living Slow Cooker Cookbook.

What You'll Need:

2 skinned and boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 10 oz package frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 14 oz cans chicken broth
1 10 ½ oz can tomato puree
1 10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chiles
¾ tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 bay leaf

What You'll Do:
Combine all in crockpot. Cover and cook on High 6 hours. Remove and discard bay leaf.
Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips and garnish with fresh cilantro.

White Chicken Chili

This is one of our favorite chilis for Fall and Winter. It's perfect to make when you need something quick and yummy. If you plan ahead of time, you can throw everything in the crockpot and the work is done for you. But if you plan last minute, you can cook in on the stove just as easily. It's best served with tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded Mexican cheese. My husband likes sliced jalapenos in his too.

What You'll Need:

3 cooked and shredded chicken breasts

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans White Northern Beans

1 can chopped green chilis
1 packet Country gravy mix

2 tsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

1 onion, chopped

What You'll Do:

Easy Method: Throw everything into a crockpot and let it cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours.

Or, cook on stove:

Put Vegetable oil in pot on Medium. A minute later, add onion and saute. Add green chilis and cumin and stir. Add all other ingredients and cook on Medium for about 45 minutes until it has thickened.

Bacon, Cheese & Potato Chowder

I got this recipe from a Kraft Foods magazine, but I changed it a bit. It's fast and easy because it uses a can of condensed soup, but the hashbrowns and finishing touches make it taste like you made it from scratch! I served it with sour dough bread.

What you'll need:

3 cups Milk

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of potato soup

2 cups frozen hashbrown

Salt, to taste (approx. 2 tsp.)

Pepper

Shredded cheddar cheese
Bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

Green Onions, thinly sliced

Sour Cream

What you'll do:

Mix milk and soup in large saucepan.

Stir in hashbrowns.

Season with Salt and pepper.

Bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to med-lo and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Top with bacon crumbles, cheddar cheese, green onions, and a dollup of sour cream.