LOVE homemade Chili! And what better way to get it done but to throw it all in a crockpot and be done with it! Walk in the door to a great smelling house and dinner ready to be devoured.
I used to love chili with beans. I would add black, pinto and kidney beans to my pot with some ground beef or turkey, tomatoes and spice it up! That was all we needed to fill us up and be tasty. But about 10 years ago, my tummy told me that I didn’t like the beans anymore :-/ It was trial and error but after eliminating the beans for about 4 months, I tried to have a small serving at a potluck — and OOPS! Not a good idea!
I had to find different ways to make chili and bulk it up a little since I wasn’t going to use beans anymore. Diced veggies were the answer. I have made this recipe on the stove several times but one morning I decided to plop it all in the crockpot and hoped for the best. I walked in the door the a great smelling house and all I had to do for dinner was scoop & serve! Easy! And who doesn’t love easy (and tasty) when you’ve had a long day???
All recipes in my opinion, are templates to what you can do for your own likes/dislikes. This is what I do – and sometimes I add another veggie or omit one because I don’t have it on hand so feel free change it up to suit your tastes or make as it’s written but either way, give it a try – you won’t regret it 🙂
FYI – THE TBSP OF SPICY SEASONING IS FOR A SPICY ‘BLEND’ …1 TBSP OF STRAIGHT CAYENNE MAY BE TOO MUCH – SO USE A BLEND OR START WITH 1 TSP AT A TIME W/A PURE SPICE!
- 1 lb. grassfed ground beef
- 2 links pork (spicy) sausage links....taken out of casing
- 1 cup diced bell peppers (I use red, yellow & green)
- 1/2 cup diced onions
- 1 large zucchini/diced
- 1 large yellow squash/diced
- 1- 8 oz. can tomato sauce*
- 1- 15 oz. can roasted, diced tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic/minced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp spicy seasoning
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- Pour can of tomato sauce* on bottom of crockpot.
- Add all seasonings to the sauce, as well as the garlic.
- Crumble ground beef & sausage over sauce.
- Toss in all vegetables (except mushrooms) over the beef.
- Top with canned tomatoes.
- Put lid on and set your crockpot to low, for 8 hours.
- An hour before it's done, toss in mushrooms (if you aren't around an hour beforehand, just toss in when you can and combine. Let it sit for 15 min before serving)
- Eat!
- *Alternatively, use canned 8 oz of canned pumpkin. I have used both and they both turn out and taste amazing. You could even use both the pumpkin and tomato sauce for added veggies!
- ** Tip: If you dice the veggies the night before, it really is a 'dump-n-go', the next morning! 🙂
