Crock Pot Chili in Sourdough Bread Bowls

This chili cooks all day in the slow cooker to boost the flavor. The secret to this recipe is browning the chili spice before adding it to the recipe. It’s fun to put it in sourdough bowls like they do at the ball park, however, you can always put it in a bowl and serve sourdough rolls on the side. This recipe makes enough chili for four people. It can be easily doubled.

Ingredients:
2 cans of kidney beans, drained
1 lb of ground beef, cooked and drained
1 clove of garlic, chopped, or 1 tsp of crushed garlic from a jar
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
1 can diced and roasted green chili peppers
1 can of Ro-tel tomatoes, hot or mild (If you can’t find Ro-tel, use regular tomatoes, and add one packet of taco seasoning mix)
1 (13 ounce) can of tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt (if you use taco seasoning mix, omit the salt)
1/2 cup of leftover black coffee
Sourdough bread rounds.

Preparation:
Pour the chili powder into a hot skillet and heat it until it begins to have a distinct smell. Do not burn the chili, simply let it get a brown tinge to it.
Mix all the ingredients together in the crockpot.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
Cut the sourdough bowls in the center and pull out the top, forming a bowl.
Pour the chili into the sourdough bowls.

Photo: Chili in Sourdough Bowl
Creative Commons License

White Bean Chicken Chili

White Bean Chicken Chili
Warm Corn Bread
Fresh Garden Salad

This simple meal takes only minutes to make and tastes delicious. Leftovers can be frozen in single portion sizes to be reheated for a warm lunch at work.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Great Northern Beans or Navy Beans, cooked
• 2 cups of cut up chicken tenderloins
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 can of chicken broth
• 2 cans of diced green chilis
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of pepper
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• Cornbread ingredients (use the recipe on your cornmeal box)
• ½ head of iceberg lettuce
• ½ cup of shredded carrots
• 1 chopped tomato
• ½ cucumber, sliced

The night before:

Soak the beans overnight in the crockpot in just enough water to cover them.

In the morning:

Drain the beans, cover with water again, and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

30 minutes before dinner:

1. Mix together the cornbread ingredients and place in the oven to bake.
2. Drain the beans.
3. Saute the chicken and onion in two tablespoons of chicken broth until the chicken is cooked and the onion is tender. Mix the cornstarch with ¼ cup of broth. To the pan add the rest of the broth, the beans, the chilis and spices. Let it simmer for ten minutes.
4. Chop the lettuce and add the other fresh vegetables. Toss.
5. Stir the cornstarch and broth mixture into the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until it thickens.
6. Serve the salad with the leftover Caesar dressing from the night before, or any other dressing of your choice.