The weather is cooling off, like it or not, which means your body might be craving more warm cooked foods to maintain balance. Let me introduce you, or reintroduce you, to this fabulous machine: The Slow Cooker. There is nothing like coming home from work or play and opening the door to the thick fragrance of spicy delicious dinner. For people with no time the slow cooker is a great solution for lovely home cooked meals. It makes a LOT of food, so it's great for a family, or for making freezable servings to take for lunches all week long.
You can work all kinds of magic with your slow cooker, but my favorite slow cooker meals are a kind of cross between stew, soup, and chili. Start your slow cooker adventure by using recipes (see one of my creations below), but before you know it you will just develop a "knack" for orchestrating your own simple culinary masterpieces. The basic formula is: toss in a big bunch of raw chopped veggies, add a few cups of chicken or veggie stock, and beans or animal protein. You can even add dry grains (rice is best) in with the rest of the ingredients, just don't forget to add enough extra liquid for the grains to absorb. The secret is in the spices. Experiment with cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, oregano, fresh pepper.... the possibilities are endless!
Brenda's Soupy Chili
1-1.5 lbs of Ground Turkey, browned on stovetop (optional)
1 Onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 carrots, chopped
1 bunch of kale or chard
1 tsp each of cumin, cayenne, oregano, fresh pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 can diced tomato
1 1/2 cups of veggie or chicken stock
3 cans of your favorite beans (I like Kidney and Cannelini)
Add in any other veggies you have around: bag of frozen veggies, half a bunch of broccoli, white or sweet potato... whatever is around.
Put all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low for 10 hours.
Mix in hot chili flake and serve with shredded cheese on top, with a side of toast or cornbread.
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