We normally don’t use our slow cooker. I think this may be the only meal we ever make in it. It’s technically a plain old chili that you can modify to your tastes. Originally meant for ground beef but can easily substitute turkey – which is what I did here.
I think this is a pretty frugal meal as written; however, suggestions to make it even cheaper.
* Don’t commit to a specific ground meat product – get what’s on sale. If it’s ground turkey, use that. Use ground beef instead if you find it on sale. Most likely the cheapest ground meat will be beef or turkey * Cut the meat down from 2 lbs to 1 lb and add an extra can of beans for a substitute * Make the kidney beans from dry beans instead of the canned ones. If you go that route, make sure you cook the beans with a more aggressive simmer for at least an hour. Raw kidney beans are toxic! I think one lb of kidney beans is around 3 cups cooked. I think one lb of dry kidneys would yield about 2.5 to 3 cans of cooked kidney beans
**Ingredients**
2 lbs ground meat – beef or turkey are the only options I used but I’m sure others can be used too.
1 med onion diced or half of a huge onion – I use sweet or yellow
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, sliced into rings
3 TBS ground chili powder
2 TSP ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
28oz can diced tomatoes
28oz can tomato sauce
2 15oz cans of kidney beans – I use one light and one dark
**Instructions**
Cut up all the vegetables and set on your biggest cutting board
Brown the meat in a skillet – drain excess fat and liquid but keep a little back
Add the chili powder and cumin and toast spices with the meat
Dump the tomato products and veggies into the crockpot along with the meat
Cook on low for 8 hours
Drain and rinse kidney beans and then add to the chili
Set slow cooker to high and cook 15 to 20 min. Note, if carrots are still a little crunchy, keep cooking on high until they are moderately tender
Notes: If you want to take the effort, you could probably sautee the onions for about 5 min or until they are translucent, add garlic and sautee for 30 sec to a min until fragrant. Then add the diced tomatoes and sautee for about 3 to 5 min more. I’ve never done it this way for the slow cooker but have done this with a dutch oven.
Forgot to mention – I sprayed the ceramic liner with non-stick cooking spray before adding anything.
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We normally don’t use our slow cooker. I think this may be the only meal we ever make in it. It’s technically a plain old chili that you can modify to your tastes. Originally meant for ground beef but can easily substitute turkey – which is what I did here.
I think this is a pretty frugal meal as written; however, suggestions to make it even cheaper.
* Don’t commit to a specific ground meat product – get what’s on sale. If it’s ground turkey, use that. Use ground beef instead if you find it on sale. Most likely the cheapest ground meat will be beef or turkey
* Cut the meat down from 2 lbs to 1 lb and add an extra can of beans for a substitute
* Make the kidney beans from dry beans instead of the canned ones. If you go that route, make sure you cook the beans with a more aggressive simmer for at least an hour. Raw kidney beans are toxic! I think one lb of kidney beans is around 3 cups cooked. I think one lb of dry kidneys would yield about 2.5 to 3 cans of cooked kidney beans
**Ingredients**
2 lbs ground meat – beef or turkey are the only options I used but I’m sure others can be used too.
1 med onion diced or half of a huge onion – I use sweet or yellow
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, sliced into rings
3 TBS ground chili powder
2 TSP ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
28oz can diced tomatoes
28oz can tomato sauce
2 15oz cans of kidney beans – I use one light and one dark
**Instructions**
Cut up all the vegetables and set on your biggest cutting board
Brown the meat in a skillet – drain excess fat and liquid but keep a little back
Add the chili powder and cumin and toast spices with the meat
Dump the tomato products and veggies into the crockpot along with the meat
Cook on low for 8 hours
Drain and rinse kidney beans and then add to the chili
Set slow cooker to high and cook 15 to 20 min. Note, if carrots are still a little crunchy, keep cooking on high until they are moderately tender
Notes: If you want to take the effort, you could probably sautee the onions for about 5 min or until they are translucent, add garlic and sautee for 30 sec to a min until fragrant. Then add the diced tomatoes and sautee for about 3 to 5 min more. I’ve never done it this way for the slow cooker but have done this with a dutch oven.
Forgot to mention – I sprayed the ceramic liner with non-stick cooking spray before adding anything.