Crockpot Chili
This is the easiest recipe in the world, delicious and hardy and there are tips to make it even easier.
Ingredients
4 cans beans (I like to mix them up; black beans, light red kidney, dark red kidney, cannelinni) (15 ox. cans)
4 cans diced tomatoes (
1 can diced tomatoes with mild green chilis
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup lentils (red or brown)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Roasted Garlic Flavor*
1 tablespoon chili powder
Scant tablespoon onion powder
Scant tablespoon garlic powder
Method
Pour the canned beans into a colander to drain, rinse well, dump in crockpot.
Add everything else.
Cook on high and it’s done beautifully within 5 hours, or cook on low for a bit longer (*8 or 9 hours)
Notes
To save even more time, buy frozen, pre-chopped (but never correctly) peppers and onions. If using this shortcut, I generally dump them onto a cutting board and carefully chop them into sizes I like better.
*Better than Bouillon Base has long my secret ingredient, but I’m using less and less because it has a lot of sodium and some oil. I use their “No Chicken” flavor in my crockpot soups and stews. Some varieties use animals for flavor, so check ingredients with care. Some varieties offer a low sodium version, including the vegetable base. However it does add a tiny bit of oil to a large crockpot full of chili. That said, I’m experimenting with increasing the spices and leaving the base out entirely. It’s just another crutch I can figure out how to work around.
I’m not doing this blog for profit.
I just don’t want anyone else to spend 61 years making food their enemy. If only I had known this stuff in my youth—the money I’d have saved on Weight Watchers and Jane Fonda videos! (Just kiddding! I still love my Jane.)
But I have a rule. All my side projects have to support themselves.
If you buy me a coffee it will go toward certification in plant-based nutrition and what I learn there, I’ll share with here (without ever violating trademarks or copyright. I’m a novelist in my other life. That shit bugs me.)