Slow Cooker Chili Casserole

So I'm still breaking in the slow cooker, and thought I'd try a traditional slow cooker meal: chili. I decided to put a twist on it by topping it with cornbread and cheese, because what could be better than chili with cornbread and cheese?! This is another super easy one, and perfect with a green salad or other simple vegetable.


The Ingredients:



-1 ½ lbs ground beef
-1 large (2-3 small) onion, small dice (I could only find tiny onions at the store, so I used 3)
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 red bell pepper, medium dice (any color would be fine)
-1 tbsp chili powder
-1 tsp ground cumin
-1 chipotle in adobo (depends on how spicy you like this. Next time, I might add 2)
-½ cup low sodium vegetable stock (chicken or beef stock would be fine, too. This is what I had on hand.)
-1 can black beans, strained (I had black beans in my pantry, but kidney beans would great here, too.)
-1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
-1 box cornbread mix
-1 egg (or whatever the package directions are for the cornbread)
-1/3 cup canola oil (or whatever the package directions are for the cornbread)
-1 ¼ cup milk (or whatever the package directions are for the cornbread)
-1 cup grated cheddar cheese
-1-2 tbsp minced cilantro

The Directions:

1. Brown beef over medium heat. Drain fat from beef and return to heat.
2. Add onion, garlic, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and chipotle, and sauté until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add stock and bring to boil, about 2 minutes.
4. Put meat mixture in 4 quart slow cooker. Top with can of black beans and can of tomatoes. Cook over low heat, 3-4 hours.
5. Prepare cornbread batter according to package directions. Stir ¾ cup of grated cheddar into batter. Spoon batter over chili, cover and cook on high another hour. (I think this had too much cornbread for the amount of chili. Next time, I'll use half the batter on the casserole, and bake off the other half in muffins.)
6. Top bread with remaining ¼ cup of cheese, cover, and cook until cheese melts, about 5-10 minutes. Top with cilantro and serve.



This was great! I was worried that Boyfriend wouldn't like it, but he really loved it and had seconds. He usually complains that chili isn't a particularly satisfying meal, but the addition of the cornbread made it heartier, and he thought it was perfect. I liked it too, although thought there was too much cornbread. And next time, I'll add more chipotles and chili powder - it could use a bit more kick. I think this would also be great with ground turkey, rather than ground beef.

Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs with Sausage and Artichokes

I've been on a cooking hiatus - the holidays have made my weekends more crazy, and then I got a bad cold which has made me even less motivated to cook. But today I decided to break in the awesome slow cooker I received for Christmas. Boyfriend's family also gave me a couple of great slow cooker cookbooks, and this dinner was inspired by Saucy Italian Chicken Thighs from the Cooking Light Slow Cooker cookbook. I modified the recipe only slightly, adding sausage (which I knew would be a winner with Boyfriend) and artichokes (for me).

The Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken thighs (skin removed)
2 skinless chicken sausages (I used Fire Roasted Red Pepper flavor)
1 small onion, medium diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 9oz box frozen artichoke hearts
1 500g box chopped tomatoes
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 tsp Italian Seasoning

The Directions:

1. Place chicken thighs in bottom of 4 quart slow cooker.
2. Slice 2 chicken sausages into bite-sized pieces, and layer over chicken thighs.
3. Cover with diced onion, minced garlic, box of artichoke hearts, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning. (After about an hour of cooking, I realized that the original recipe recommends combining all of these ingredients and then topping the chicken. I didn't do that, just dumped each ingredient in one on top of another, and it turned out just fine.)
4. Cook on High setting for 1 hour, then cook on Low for 5-6 hours, until chicken is fully cooked and tender.

This was super easy. I picked it because it had very little prep, just dump stuff in the slow cooker and turn it on. After a few hours, the apartment smelled great! I served it over some "instant" brown rice that I cooked in chicken stock. It was a huge hit! The chicken was incredibly tender and fell right off the bone. The chicken also gave off a lot of juices, which combined with the tomatoes to make everything very saucy. I think the addition of sausage and artichokes really boosted the flavor of the dish, and worked with the chicken. I plan to reheat the leftovers tomorrow for lunch and serve over spinach pasta. This is definitely a keeper, although in the future, I might add some dark greens, like kale or spinach, for the last hour of cooking.