Hooray for slow cooker season! I love a good slow cooker (paid link) recipe, and this Slow Cooker Venison Chili is no exception!
I decided it was about time to update my original recipe for Slow Cooker Venison Chili; I figured after 13 years it could use some sprucing up!
The ingredients haven’t changed much, but the method used to develop the flavors is updated. This hearty Slow Cooker Venison Chili will definitely be a family favorite!
Ingredients:
Chili Seasoning:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Venison Chili:
4 strips bacon, cooked
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat, or 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 lbs ground venison
2 (15.5 oz) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup coffee
Toppings:
Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Sour cream (omit for dairy free)
Cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese, shredded (omit for dairy free)
Note: I was sent a bottle of Chabé® Sambal Chili. All opinions are mine alone.
We are big fans of spicy foods in my house. So whenever I am given the opportunity to try a new hot sauce or paste, I always jump at the chance.
Since the moment this little bottle of Chabé® Sambal Chili entered my home, my husband has basically put it on everything. Sambal is a hot sauce or paste made with chili peppers found in Southeast Asian cooking. Chabé® Sambal Chili’s secret formula uses fresh chilies, garlic and a unique artisan technique that adds an explosion of heat and flavor to just about anything you add it to. It’s fairly thick and is incredibly flavorful, so a little bit goes a long way. What I really like about this sambal is that it has a balanced heat — you get the hit of spiciness up front, but it has a hint of sweetness toward the end.
The story of Chabé® Sambal Chili begins in the late 1900’s in the lush islands of Indonesia. The founder’s late grandfather developed one of the earliest recipes for sweet soy, a flavorful base ingredient that was once only available to the locals & chefs in Southeast Asia. Passionate about introducing more sauces that boast indigenous ingredients of Java and share a rich culture with the world, the founder launched a 50-year-old family recipe of Chabé® Sambal Chili. A flavor-rich, savory & sweet blend of fiery Cayenne and Bird’s Eye chili peppers, harvested from the tropical, mountain-side farms of Indonesia, combines with fresh garlic and tropical spices.
source: https://www.chabechili.com
This Spicy Cucumber Salad really shows off the flavors of Chabé® Sambal Chili, and would be awesome as a side at a barbecue. It’s also great as a snack!
Ingredients (makes 4 servings, multiply as needed):
8 mini seedless cucumbers
1/2 cup chopped scallions, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
To make, cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and then chop crosswise into bite-sized pieces.
Add to a medium-sized mixing bowl along with the scallions, cilantro, and chopped peanuts. Toss to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix together the Sambal Chili, toasted sesame oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and garlic cloves.
Pour the mixture over the cucumber mixture, tossing to combine.
Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Add to a serving bowl and top with more chopped scallions, cilantro and peanuts. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes on top, and serve.
I really love spicy cucumbers. The crunch of the cucumbers with the spicy dressing is just so satisfying!
The Sambal Chili is the start of this dish. It complements the freshness of the cucumbers nicely. The peanuts add another layer of crunch and flavor as well.
You can make this ahead of time, just keep in mind the longer it sits the more time the sauce has to soak into the cucumbers.
This Sambal Chili clearly has a permanent home in my fridge. You can pick up your own bottle on the Chabé® Sambal Chili website.
Note: I was sent a box of various Bob’s Red Mill products to make the below recipe. Opinions are mine alone.
This past weekend, a friend and I got together to stock our freezers. The fall is a super busy time of year for most, so we wanted to have a variety of meals ready to make some nights (and mornings) easier. We settled on eleven (11!) recipes, organized a shopping list split between the two of us, and set up prep work (chopping veggies for the most part) for the night before. The next morning, we met at my place and got to cooking!
Chili is a go-to freezer recipe. Not only does it freeze well, but it works great on its own, with cornbread, over polenta, as a “dip” with corn chips, with eggs for breakfast, etc. This recipe originally began as a vegetarian chili, but we had more ground beef leftover, so in it went!
I am a firm believer that dried beans make for a tastier dish than canned beans. There is some prep work needed, but it is very much worth it. I used Bob’s Red Mill Red Kidney Beans and Cannellini Beans for this recipe.
source: bobsredmill.com
We made a LOT of this chili, somewhere around 20 servings, so I’ve scaled it down for this post to make it more appropriate. Feel free to double if needed.
Note: I will share and link all of our recipes below. It was quite a successful cooking day!
Ingredients (makes 8-10 servings):
12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Red Kidney Beans (~1/2 bag)
12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Cannellini Beans (1/2 bag)
My fiance is obsessed with leftovers. For whatever reason, he seems to think that most food tastes better the second time around. So I typically make a few more servings than we need so that he has his beloved leftovers the next day.
OXO makes cooking and storing food/leftovers super simple with their new 14 Piece Glass Bake, Serve & Store Set (paid link). The set is awesome to prepare foods beforehand, or to easily refrigerate/freeze any leftovers. It includes a Glass 3 Qt Baking Dish with Lid, Glass 2 Qt Baking Dish with Lid, Glass Loaf Pan, Glass Pie Plate, 1 Cup Round SNAP Container, 2 Cup Round SNAP Container, and 4 Cup Round SNAP Container.
For make ahead recipes, this glass bakeware is a huge time saver: they are made of thermal shock-resistant borosilicate glass, which allows dishes to be taken directly from the freezer to the oven or microwave — no need to fully thaw. The glass can withstand up to 250 degrees F of temperature change! Generous handles make removing dishes from the oven super easy, even when wearing oven mitts.
This set is perfect for recipes on the go as well; the baking dishes and SNAP containers come with raised slosh-proof lids for easy transportation. The SNAP Glass Food Storage is also microwave safe for reheating leftovers (just undo the tabs of the lid first), and provides a leak-proof seal, so it’s great for lunches to take to work!
I made this recipe for Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole recently for dinner using OXO’s 3 quart baking dish (9×13). Chilaquiles are actually typically a breakfast recipe, using lightly fried tortillas and salsa. This version is a casserole take on the traditional, and uses grilled corn tortillas baked with a quick homemade tomatillo salsa, rotisserie chicken, and cheese.
Ingredients:
meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (~3 cups)
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/3 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 (26 oz) can whole tomatillos, drained
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 cup finely chopped Monterey Jack cheese, divided
Note: I was sent a Rubbermaid’s Easy Find Lids 20-Piece Storage Set to review. All opinions are mine alone.
We have had a pretty moderate fall so far, but the cold weather isn’t too far off. This time of year, I like to fill my freezer with different meals so I always have comfort food on hand for busy weeknights. One of my favorites, of course, is chili.
Rubbermaid Easy Find Lids are a life saver – I typically just keep the containers from take out and they are all just shoved into a cabinet net to my stove, with no organization to them whatsoever. So i spend a good 10 minutes finding the right top to go with whatever container I’ve chosen. Rubbermaid’s storage set takes the annoyance out of trying to find the right top — the Lids snap on to the bottom of their respective containers so you can find them in no time! The containers also nest inside each other so you can have a small stack of all of your containers and lids in one spot.
The 20-piece set comes with 3 (0.5 Cup), 3 (1.25 Cup), 1 (2 Cup), 2 (3 Cup), 1 (5 Cup), and 10 respective Easy Find Lids. The plastic is dishwasher, freezer, and microwave safe and is also BPA-free.
On to the recipe! This time around, I went for a classic – ground beef and beans with some bratwurst meat for additional flavor (I used beef bratwurst, but you can use any type you’d like).
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (omit for dairy free)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds ground beef
1 pound bratwurst, removed from its casing
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 chipotle from can of chipotles in adobo sauce, finely chopped (seeds removed if preferred)
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from can of chipotles in adobo
2 red bell peppers, chopped (or whatever color you prefer)
2 (15.5 oz) cans red kidney beans, drained
1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, drained
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ground chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon espresso grounds
For garnish: 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped; 4 oz sour cream; 4 oz cheddar or pepper Jack cheese, shredded
Nothing warms you up quite like a bowl of homemade chili. I love how hearty chili is while still being a relatively healthy dinner choice. And when made in a slow cooker, it’s waiting to greet you when you get home!
It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of slow cooker recipes; I have almost 30 slow cooker recipes on my blog as of this post! And chili is a perfect slow cooker meal — brown your meat, saute the onions and peppers, throw everything else in, cover, and let the slow cooker do it’s magic.
I was sent this slow cooker chili recipe from Redpack tomatoes for Slow Cooker Sausage and Sweet Potato Chili, along with a kit containing some of their yummy crushed tomatoes. I had never made chili with sweet potatoes in it before but it sounded absolutely delicious! I adapted my recipe slightly, mainly due to me using a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes instead of a 14.5 oz can (oops).
Redpack also will be hosting an awesome promotion from today, Oct. 22 to Nov. 12 during which they will give away two slow cookers a day for three weeks on its Facebook page — that’s 44 slow cookers! Just go to RedPack Tomatoes Facebook Page to enter.
Ingredients:
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, removed from its casings
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups beef broth
1 (28 oz) can Redpack Crushed Tomatoes in Thick Puree
1 (28 oz) can Repack Petite Diced Tomatoes in Juice
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
My boyfriend and I have been trying to eat less meat and increase our seafood, shellfish, and vegetarian dinner options. In general, vegetarian and fish dinner options are also a great choice for a weeknight dinner because they take very little time to prepare.
This recipe for Seafood Arrabbiata from Cooking Light incorporates a few different types of shellfish into a spicy tomato broth that is served over pasta.
“Arrabbiata” means “angry” in Italian alluding to the spiciness of the dish. You can alter the spices to your liking. I’d suggest adding very little crushed red pepper, and then having a shaker of red pepper when serving so each person can customize their level of heat.
I made a realization this weekend. Chili is so hearty that I really don’t realize if there is even meat in them. So why add it in?
With a bunch of different beans and peppers, you can still deliver an absolutely delicious chili that doesn’t even need meat! (I’m not knocking those that like meat in their chili, I just apparently prefer the vegetarian version)
Katherine Martinelli had a chili link up last week on her blog and I couldn’t stop thinking about chili. Her Three Bean Chili in particular looked so fantastic, I decided to make my own version of it below. It is based off of her recipe but I did make some changes, so to see the original recipe, check it out here.
This Tri Vegetarian Chili is aptly named. It uses three types of beans, three types of dried peppers, and three types of bell peppers.
Hummus is probably my favorite snack. On days I don’t feel like cooking, I tend to grab some hummus with pita, tomatoes, cucumbers, or anything else that will work as a yummy vehicle for the hummus. It’s also really delicious as a spread on a sandwich instead of mayo. So I usually have at least one container of hummus in my fridge at any moment. But homemade hummus is exponentially better than the store bought stuff. Plus, you can customize it to your liking.
I recently watched a video of the hummus master himself, James Beard winner Michael Solomonov. Mike Solo has arguably the best hummus found in Philly, at his restaurant Zahav. I wanted to attempt to make my own creamy hummus at home. I tend to like mine slightly spicy, which can be achieved by adding a lot of garlic. But I have this awesome Nudo Chili Olive Oil, so I thought I’d include that to give it a bit of a kick, so I decided to make this Chili Oil Hummus!
I love chili, and with the warm winter we’ve been having, I didn’t have nearly enough of it. So before spring is truly here, I wanted to make another batch. This meatless chili has so many different beans and flavor, you won’t even miss the meat! I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light, using more peppers, diced tomatoes instead of stewed, and a bit of vegetable broth to thin it out a little.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 chopped yellow bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped orange bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
To make, heat a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium- high heat. Add the olive oil. Add the onion, peppers and garlic.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the sugar, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Add the tomatoes, beans, and broth.
Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.
That’s it!
A delicious, hearty, meatless meal in 40 minutes.
Serve with corn bread if desired.
I love the colors in this! Look at all those different tones!
The chili looked a little too chunky without the vegetable broth, but if you like it that way, feel free to omit the broth.
I spent most of Saturday in the car driving to/from North Jersey in a freak Nor’easter snowfall that really made the ride quite an experience. After yesterday, it is clear that winter is (sadly) not too far away, so I better get started on some of my favorite cold weather foods. First up, chili.
I just joined a new farm club called Arganica, that just started delivering to Philadelphia. I actually joined it because my CSA share is ending and I still wanted to receive different vegetables during the winter months. However, as I was looking over their offerings, their meat and fish section is what really caught my eye. I decided to take a chance on a new type of meat I’ve never cooked with before: venison. When I mentioned I was planning on making venison chili to my boyfriend, his eyes lit up. Here’s hoping my chili can live up to whatever high expectation he has for this meal! To go along with the chili, I also made pepper Jack corn bread muffins.
For those a bit wary about venison, the meat is actually quite lean; venison is lower in fat, calories and cholesterol than beef, pork, or lamb.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons oil
2 lbs ground venison
4 strips of bacon
2 cans red kidney beans, drained
1 can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon ground chili
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 jalapeno (or similar) pepper, seeds removed and chopped
