Tag: Crock Pot Recipe

A Lighter White Bean Chili Not Short on Taste

One of the best things about chili is that it tastes just as great in the fall and winter. One particular chili dish that is perfect for the colder months is this delicious and comforting recipe for a healthier white bean chili, courtesy of the Half-Baked Harvest food blog, that you’ll want to make all year long, even when the temperatures start to rise. It’s surprisingly light, considering it’s labeled as chili, but it tastes amazing!

This chili is a delightful blend of flavors that you’ll find are very different from the traditional, canned fare. Turkey that’s browned on the stovetop, smoothly textured broth, and the use of apple butter as a key ingredient truly make this recipe something special.

Ingredients For White Bean Chili:

  • 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
  • 1 14-ounce can of white beans, drained
  • 2 pounds of ground turkey, browned
  • 2 small yellow onions, peeled and chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and then minced or grated
  • 2 red peppers, seeded and chopped finely
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped
  • 2-3 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 whole bay leaves
  • ¼ cup of tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon of apple butter
  • 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons of chili powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoon of salt
  • ½ a cup of cheddar cheese (for serving)
  • 1 avocado, peeled (for serving)
  • ⅓ cup of green onions, chopped (for serving)
  • 3 tablespoons of cilantro (for serving)

Directions for White Bean Chili:

  1. In order to begin cooking this recipe in your slow cooker, you’ll first want to heat your extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add your chopped onions and cook them for about five  minutes or until they begin to caramelize around the edges. Afterward, you’ll stir in your minced or grated garlic and then cook the caramelized onions and garlic for another minute. Then, you can add in your turkey andbrown the meat all over on all sides. As you’re browning the turkey, you’ll break up your meat and continue to cook for about five-minutes. Then, remove the skillet from the heat. This extra step may seem like a hassle, but trust that browning your meat before cooking your chili will be well worth the additional step.
  2. Next, you’ll transfer your browned turkey meat to the inner bowl of your slow cooker. Add in your chopped red bell peppers, chipotle peppers, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, smoked paprika, and salt. Stir in about two cups of chicken broth, your tomatoes, the apple butter, the tomato paste, and your two bay leaves. Stir the seasoning and vegetables together in order to combine them. Cover your slow cooker pot with its lid and cook it on the low setting for 6-8 hours, or alternatively, you can cook it on the high setting for 4-5 hours. Either way, you’ll want to stir in your white beans during the last hour of cooking. If your chili is too thick for your liking, you can thin it by adding the remaining chicken broth.
  3. Once you’re ready to serve your chili, remove your two bay leaves, ladle your chili into serving bowls, and garnish the tops of your chili bowls with your preferred toppings. This recipe suggests that the perfect way to enjoy this chili is to add a sprinkling of cheddar cheese, some sliced avocado, and some bits of green onion to the top of your bowls.
  4. Enjoy!

Notes:

  • If you’d like to save this recipe, cool the leftover chili and then freeze the cooled chili in freezer containers.Once you’re ready to eat them, you’ll want to partially thaw them in the refrigerator overnight, heat each through in a saucepan while stirring occasionally, and add a little broth or water to the pot if necessary.
  • A good chili deserves to have a plethora of good toppings; use all of your favorites for a flavorful finished dish. I serve my chili with jalapeno (fresh or pickled), fresh cilantro, sour cream, and/or cornbread.

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Crock Pot Brisket for the Days You Can’t Be Outside

Barbecuing might be one of the most popular cooking methods for brisket, and it’s for good reason; the meat cooks slowly over a long period of time and absorbs the flavors from the barbecue sauce or rub. A delicious brisket can also be cooked under similar conditions with an old fashioned slow cooker.  As seen in this delicious recipe from Recipe Tin Eats, even a crock pot brisket with savory barbecue sauce compares to a professional brisket dinner.

Ingredients for the Crock Pot Brisket

Brisket & Rub:

Barbeque Sauce

Directions for the Crock Pot Brisket

  1. In order to begin this delicious recipe, you’ll want to mix your rub ingredients together. Wearing gloves, spreadyour brisket rub all over the beef brisket on all sides. If you have the time, it’s best to let the rub rest on the beef brisket for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 24 hours in the refrigerator on a platter.
  2. Then using a slow cooker, combine the ingredients for your barbecue sauce inside the inner container of the slow cooker. Mix them thoroughly before adding your beef brisket into the slow cooker. Be forceful so that the entire brisket fits in the cooker; squish it if you need to.
  3. Next is the easy part, unless you’re the impatient type. Turn on your slow cooker so that the brisket cooks for 8 hours for a 3-pound brisket and 10 hours for a 4-pound brisket.
  4. After it’s finished cooking, remove the brisket from the cooker and place it onto a tray. Pour the liquid that’s remaining in the slow cooker into a saucepan. Then, bring the saucepan to a simmer over medium-high heat and reduce the liquid so that it thickens into a syrup-like consistency.
  5. At the same time as the previous step, drizzle oil over the brisket and then roast it for 15 minutes in a 390°F oven until brown spots appear. At this point, remove the brisket, baste generously with BBQ Sauce, and then return it to the oven for 5 minutes. Repeat this step of removing, basting, returning, and continuing to cook the brisket for 5-10 minutes at a time until the surface is caramelized.
  6. Slice the brisket thinly across the grain and serve it alongside your remaining BBQ sauce. This recipe pairs well with a side of coleslaw, potato salad, or even buttered rolls. Enjoy!

Notes:

If you’d rather cook your beef brisket in the oven instead of a slow cooker, then you would need to put the Barbeque sauce ingredients in a roasting pan, add 2 cups of water, and mix it together. Then, add the beef brisket, cover it with a lid or a double layer of foil. Then, set the oven to 320°F, and cook the brisket for 4 hours covered and then uncovered for 30 minutes, until the meat is “fork tender.”

During the cooking process, be sure to baste the meat with the pan juices every hour and check every now and then to ensure that the liquid doesn’t reduce down beyond the consistency of BBQ sauce. If it does reduce, just add water. After it’s cooked, you’ll remove the brisket, scrape or pour the sauce off into a sauce pan, and simmer over medium heat until it thickens into a BBQ Sauce syrup consistency.

You’ll then roast for 10-15 minutes until the surface is caramelized, at which point you’ll return the brisket to the roasting pan and increase the heat to 390°F. Lastly, you’ll drizzle the brisket with oil, brush with sauce, and save the remaining sauce for serving.

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