Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Kid Approved Slow Cooker Chili

Really- see?
 
In the middle of grocery shopping Friday, my 5 year old turns to me and says "I have an idea! We can make our own chili with ingredients!"  Which I have been trying to convince him of forever since he loves Trader Joe's vegetarian chili, but we don't eat tofu. So we read the ingredients on the can, and then I let him decide what else we should add.
 
Remember, I don't measure things, I keep forgetting that I should if I want to share the recipe- but hey, I measured for the cake in the previous post, so I'm making progress.
 
We make a ton of everything so we can freeze leftovers...this BARELY fit in my slow cooker! That's why there are so many ingredients.  I add everything I have in the house.
 
Here's our recipe:
 
half an onion
3 stalks of celery
2 carrots
crushed garlic
olive oil
taco seasoning (I use this recipe)
adobo seasoning
extra cumin to taste
optional: browned ground beef
a little tomato paste
a dash of apple cider vinegar
1 cup of chicken, beef, or veggie broth
1 can black beans
1 can cannelini beans
1 can diced tomatoes
half a package Trader Joe's frozen super sweet fire roasted corn
1 package Trader Joe's frozen tri color peppers (or you could chop up your own if you're not lazy like me!)
handful of frozen spinach leaves*
handful of frozen kale*
1 package of Trader Joe's 10 minute farro (you could use rice, but the boys LOVE this stuff!)

 
*I buy spinach and kale bagged like for salad, stick the whole thing in the freezer, crunch up the bag, then throw handfuls in everything for extra veggies that are too small to be detected by picky children.
 
Turn the slow cooker on high, and add chopped carrots, celery, & onion, with a splash of olive oil, all the seasoning, and the crushed garlic.
When the onions are soft, add all the other ingredients except the farro or rice & give it a good stir.
Cook for 6-8 hours, add farro or rice 10 minutes prior to serving.
 
Enjoy!

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