It’s the middle of September. The first day of Autumn is quickly approaching. Seasonally, thoughts drift to cooler weather, changing leaves, and football. One out of three isn’t bad! Here in the Midwest, temperatures are still nearing 90* on a daily basis! The only indicators that fall is in fact, upon us are the football games on the television (Go Pack Go!) and the increasingly shorter days. Oh, and lets not forget the pumpkin spice everything! (yuck!!)
Food is the center of life in our household. (Well, some days, food is life…but that’s a story for another day!) With the cooler weather typically comes the comfort food! We certainly love our comfort food! Hearty Sunday dinners. Soups and stews. Roasts of all sorts. (My tummy is growling just thinking about it!) I couldn’t wait for cooler temperatures. So for dinner tonight…a big comforting bowl and spicy chili served with jalapeno cheddar corn bread! Yumm-OH!!! I thought I’d take a moment and share my recipe for a delish Crock-Pot Chili!
The main ingredients!
I tend to be on the frugal side…so you will notice that most of my ingredients are store brand…even the meat. Normally we like to get our meat at the butcher (we haven’t found one we love in Springfield yet) but for a soup or casserole, I use the cheap stuff!! Also…I love to use venison in my chili, but our freezer is lacking in that department at the moment.
MMM…look at that steamy pile of deliciousness!
The recipe calls for a half cup of liquid. You could use water, but I find that beef stock (or broth) adds to the flavor. If you really want to kick it up a notch…you could use a nice lager!
Honestly, who doesn’t love a one pot, fix it and forget it recipe?! I mixed this up around 1030 this morning…stirred it occasionally….and in an hour my hubby will be very happy when he gets home from work, and one of his favorite meals is ready to go!
I like to serve the chili with corn bread on the side. I use whatever box brand is cheapest, but to give it a little more flavor I’ll add in a fresh jalapeno and a handful of cheddar cheese.
Now, maybe with a little bit of luck and a whole lot of central air, I can pretend that the cool crisp fall weather has arrived!
Chili!!!
