Bean There, Ate That

Beans, legumes in general, are so delicious. I’ve BEAN eating a lot of them lately and hope to eat more in the coming months providing my tummy doesn’t object. They’re cheap, high in fiber and protein, animal-free, and so versatile—what’s not to like about them, right? Right. hehe

I used two kinds of beans in crock pot chili today: kidney beans and black beans. I don’t think any type of bean is wrong for chili, not even chickpeas!

Two Bean Beef Crock Pot Chili

The not-as-glamorous dinner table version:

I needed to transfer to a bigger bowl for lots of raw white onions, avocado slices and Matzo crackers. Dustin had chili dogs.  I also ate the oyster crackers in my first images for an appetizer, haha.

The onions were so perfectly crisp and slightly sweet. Much fresher than most onions I have had this entire past winter! There is nothing like a fresh, crisp onion. Mmm!

Two Bean Beef Crock Pot Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 cans precooked beans of choice, drained
• 3 to 4 cans diced canned tomatoes with liquid (or plain tomato sauce, or mixture of both)
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• Salt + pepper to taste
• Cumin to taste, approx. 2 teaspoons or to taste
• Chili powder to taste (approx. 1/4 cup)
• 1 teaspoon sugar, optional
• Garlic powder to taste
• Garlic salt, optional
• Cayenne pepper, approx. 1/2 teaspoon or to taste

Method:

1. In nonstick skillet, cook onions in olive oil until softened; add to crock pot. *Important to cook down onions before adding in tomatoes which could hamper cooking.
2. Add in all other ingredients, break beef up with spoon; cook on medium-high for 4-6 hours or until beef is cooked thoroughly. Stir every so often.

Makes approx. 8-12 servings

I love no-fuss meals that yield lots of leftovers. Crock pot (slow cooker) recipes are fantastic, especially in warmer weather when you don’t want to heat up the house with the oven or stove top. Set it and forget it, then marvel in its efficiency when you chomp down.

It’s a gloomy night with thunder and lightning and drip-drops of rain on and off. It’s definitely not making me energetic! It’s making me want to curl up with a warm, oozing brownie sundae and carb crash myself into a long nap, LOL. No hot fudge, though. heh

I’m thinking about making homemade cereal, just for giggles. I don’t know if I’m actually that brave, though. It would be an interesting experiment. We’ll see. I will most likely lose momentum on that project 2 seconds after I get to the kitchen. Maybe when I finally take my dehydrator out of the box, assuming that it actually IS that? LOL That would be hilarious if it was a decoy. I hope to find out if Dustin’s present ever gets here! Hurry, Mrs. Postwoman!

Off to wait for the postwoman and the hot fudge fairy.

Tagged as: beans, beef, chili, crock pot, crock pot recipes, gluten-free, grain-free, recipes, slow cooker recipes