Easy Slow Cooker Chili

Time for another Crockpot Monday post. I went with an old classic this week. I made Slow Cooker Chili with some Corn Muffins. Awesome meal to come home to. I took the pictures while it was nice and hot because I couldn't wait to eat so they turned out a little steamy.

Ingredients
2 lbs Lean Ground Beef
1 cup Onions, chopped
1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
1 can Black Beans, Drained and Rinsed
1 Green Pepper, diced
1 (28oz) can Diced Tomatoes-no salt added, undrained
1 (15 oz) can Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 Tsp Cumin

Cheese for topping (Optional)


Instructions
1. Brown Beef in Skillet. Drain.
2. In slow cooker, mix Beef and remaining ingredients.
3. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or on high heat for 4-5.

Quick Tips

•  I used a slow cooker liner to reduced the amount of clean up. 
• You can also used Ground Turkey to make Chili for a healthier option. 

Easy Meatloaf

One can't have a food blog without including meatloaf. Mixing it up is great but every now and then it is good to make an old favorite. I like to make mine with BBQ Sauce but Ketchup works great as well.

Ingredients
2 lbs lean Ground Beef
1/2 cup Water
2 Eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/2 of a (6 oz) package Sage Stuffing Mix

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Mix Ground Beef, Water, Eggs, Onion, Stuffing Mix, 1/4 cup BBQ Sauce/Ketchup.
3. Shape into a loaf.
4. Spread remaining 1/4 cup of Ketchup over the top.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.

Featured Beer
I bought this one on a whim. It's the Organic Chocolate Stout by Samuel Smith Brewery.  I had not tried an organic beer before, at least not that I can think of. Chocolate sounded appealing as usual as well. I purchased this pint sized bottle to split with Shane for only $3.99. For the price, I figured that it would be worth a try. This might sound obvious but this beer was overwhelmingly chocolate. I felt like I was drinking a thin chocolate shake. I will not be getting this again. If you are in the mood for this type of beer, I recommend that you have a Young's Double Chocolate Stout instead.

Irish Stout Stew

It's taken me awhile to come up with a Beef Stew recipe that I am satisfied with. This is an old favorite and a great meal for a winter's night after a long day at work. I served this with a Guinness and a piece of baguette. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
Oil
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 Tsp. Salt
2 lbs Beef Stew Meat, cubed
3 stalks Celery, sliced
2 Carrots, sliced
5 Yellow Potatoes, diced
1 Onion, sliced
1 tsp Garlic, minced
3 cups Beef Broth
1 (6 oz) Tomato Paste
1 (12 oz) Guinness
1 tsp Thyme

Instructions
1. Heat oil in large skillet.
2. In large bowl, mix Salt and Flour. Coat Beef in Flour mix.
3. Brown Beef in skillet.
4. Add Celery, Carrots,  Potatoes, Onion, and Garlic to slow cooker.
5. Top with Beef.
6. In medium sized bowl, stir Beef Broth and Tomato Paste. Pour over Beef.
7. Slowly pour Guinness over top.
8. Sprinkle Thyme over top.
9. Cover and cook for 8 hours.

Featured Beer

Obviously, I enjoyed this with a Guinness. I am certain most people are familiar with this one so my description will be brief. It's delicious.... I prefer it on draft but it is a great one to cook with as well. I recommend that you pour it in a glass at a vertical angle when enjoying it with this meal.

Easy Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs Lean Ground Beef
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups mixed Vegetables-Peas, Carrots, Corn
1/4 cup Beef Broth
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
Mashed Potatoes (See below)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese


Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
1. Cook Beef and Onion in skillet.
2. Mix in Vegetables. Cook until tender.
3. Stir in Beef Broth and Worchestershire.
4. Simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Spoon Beef Mixture into 8x8 baking dish.
6. Top with Mashed Potatoes.
7. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Add Cheddar and bake an additional 5 minutes.


Mashed Potatoes
You probably already know how to make mashed potatoes but I wanted to add a quick recipe so that my shepherd's pie recipe is complete. I boil the potatoes first, then start prepping the rest of the meal.

Ingredients
6 small white or red Potatoes
Water
1/3 cup Milk
1/4 cup Butter
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Garlic, Minced
1/4 Sour Cream

Instructions
1. Peal Potatoes and cut into quarters.
2. Place Potatoes in sauce pan. Add just enough Water to cover the Potatoes. Cover.
3. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Potatoes should be tender when poked with a fork. Drain.
4. Mash Potatoes with masher of electric mixer.
5. Gradually stir in milk.
6. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Featured Beer
This one is Out of Bounds Stout by Avery Brewing Company. It's a dark stout that will warm you up on a Winter's night. This  full bodied stout has an ABV of 6.3%. It has a generous yet well balanced amount of hops to it and it paired nicely with this meal.

Ham and Broccoli Bake

This is a good weeknight meal since it takes a short time to prep. It's also a good way to use leftover ham. Shane likes to eat his over a piece of toast.

Ingredients
1 package Savory Herb Stuffing mix
1 cup Water
1 (10 oz)  Broccoli, thawed, drained
2 cups Ham, chopped
1/2 Tsp. Onion Powder
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
4 oz Velveeta, cubed

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In medium sized bowl, mix Water with Stuffing Mix. Set aside.
3. In a 8x8 baking dish, mix Broccoli, Ham, Onion Powder, and Soup.
4. Lightly mix in Velveeta cubes.
5. Top with Stuffing.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.

Featured Beer

I had a The Poet by New Holland Brewing Company. This one is an oatmeal stout which is a delicious twist on a classic style. It has a mild favor and it has a ABV of 5.2% which will keep one from feeling overwhelmed.

Chicken Florentine Rigatoni

Made this tonight! So tasty. I love spinach and this dish gives dinner a healthy kick.

Ingredients
1 box Rigatoni
1 (10 oz) package frozen Spinach, cooked, drained
1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 1/2 cups Cottage Cheese
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Chicken Breasts, cooked
1 (8oz) package Mozzarella

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Cook Rigatoni according to package instructions, omitting the salt.
3. Mix Spinach, Red Pepper Flakes, Cottage Cheese, Eggs until well blended. Mix in Chicken.
4. Gradually mix in Mozzarella.
5. Spoon mixture into 13x9 baking dish, sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.

Featured Beverage

Tonight I'm drinking a Conway's Irish ale by Great Lakes Brewing Company. This is one of my favorite beers by one of my favorite brewing company's! Like most Great Lake's beers, you have to be careful with this one. It has an ABV of 6.5% so it tends to sneak up on you. This Irish Red Ale is also great for cooking. You will see this one come up in a few of my recipes in the future.

Slow Cooker Tortilla Chicken Soup

Well I've been meaning to keep up with my posting but things have gotten crazy. I made this dish last Monday as part of my Crockpot Monday. I went to take the picture when I realized that this meal is not very visually appealing. Shane referred to it as "the dish whose picture does not do it justice". He loves when I make this one. I also didn't have my Chicken Broth on hand so I went without. Usually, it will have a bit more of a soup texture because of that.

Ingredients

2-3 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
1 can Black Beans, drained, rinsed
1 cup Corn
1 can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
8 oz Cream Cheese
Baked Tortilla Strips (See below)

Instructions
1. Place Chicken Breasts in crockpot.
2. In large bowl, stir Black Beans, Corn, Tomatoes, Garlic, Onion Powder. Stir together. Pour over the Chicken.
3. Add Chicken Broth.
4. Top with Cream Cheese.
5. Cover and cook for 6-7 hours.
6. Shred chicken with two forks. Top with Baked Tortilla Strips and serve.


Baked Tortilla Strips
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cut a Tortilla into 1 inch strips.
3. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Sticky Bars

A few weeks ago, a good friend of my family passed away. She was a huge influence on me and was the one who introduced me to some great foods such as Pepperoni bread. She also made the most delicious dessert ever that she called Ooey Gooey. When I heard the news I immediately went out and bought the ingredients for Pepperoni Bread. Unfortunately, I have no idea what was in her Ooey Gooey but I gave it a try. My version is not even a little bit close to hers. I was initially disappointed but everyone that tired these thought that they were tasty.

Ingredients
20 finely ground Oreos
1/2 stick Butter
1/2 cup Macadamia Nuts
1 cup Coconut
1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup Butterscotch Morsels
1/2 cup Semi- Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Melt butte in 13x9 baking dish. Remove from oven. Pour Oreos over the bottom of the pan. Pressing the mixture down onto the bottom of the pan to form a crust.
3. Sprinkle Macadamia Nuts and Coconut over the top.
4. Pour Sweetened Condensed Milk evenly over the top.
5. Top with Butterscotch and Chocolate Chip Morsels.
6. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Featured Beer

When I made these I was enjoying a Winter Warmer Ale by Elevator Brewing Company. Long story short, this six pack did not last long.