Vegan Crockpot Quinoa Chili

I made this chili the other night as part of my Crockpot Tuesdays.  I really liked HOW EASY it was - I mean super simple. The only problem for me was it was too spicy. I have zero tolerance for spice (my hubby said it wasn't spicy at all).  Either way, I cut the spice down to half from the original recipe and I still had to add a lot of ranch to get it down.  So I will do this again but will let hubby spice his own afterwards. The recipe made a ton so we have had it for left overs for several days (love it when that happens!)

The original recipe called for chicken but I turned this into a vegan style dish.

Warm You Up Pumpkin Soup

I will start this post by telling you I do not have a lot of pictures and I promise to take more next time I make this dish.  Honestly? I thought we were going to hate it so there wouldn't be a need to document pictures for a blog post. This is a recipe that has been sitting on my pinterest "to-make" list for a while, but decided to give it a shot this week because we had an extra can of pumpkin.

I was SO SO wrong.  This soup was delicious.  It was tasty, it was easy to make, and super cheap. I figure we probably spent $5 on the whole thing. I will say that the kids did not eat it just because soup is a hard thing for them to handle right now but I will definitely be making this again for the hubby and me!

Freezer Friendly: Homemade Crockpot Chili

Hi there :) Missed you guys! But, do tell.  How much are you loving the easy and delicious recipes from Team ACT?  I tell you what... I am SO glad she is a part of my team! In honor of Fall being Just . Around. The. Corner - let's get some chili cooking!  Set it - forget it - and enjoy it after a long day. I've tried many crockpot recipes for chili.  Some have been better than others, but this one has been my favorite so far.  And it makes a LOT.   I had plenty to serve for dinner to 4 adults and have enough to freeze for later.  We LOVE LOVE LOVED it served over baked potatoes with some cheese sprinkled on top.  This recipe was also the first in which I made my own homemade chili seasoning.  The recipe I found and used was delicious and had a little kick.  The best part about making your own is being able to control the amount and type of ingredients - I used less salt and more hot peppers for the kick.  YUM.

Cinci's Chili

Are you still out there?  Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  Little One is sick with his first bad cold and it's been slow going around here.  Lots of coughing and sneezing - I'll spare you the details ;)  So needless to say, I haven't been trying a ton of new things lately.  We are all off of our schedules and Little One is trying to give up his afternoon nap to boot.  Hopefully he'll kick the worst of it soon! Three nights ago, yes, it's taken me that long to find some time to post, I made an old trusty stand by - my mother-in-law's Cinci's Chili.  It's a busy season for us! So what exactly is Cinci's chili you ask?  It's a type of chili from Cincinnati "characterized by unusual seasonings such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and chocolate."  Traditionally, in restaurants, you can order it several ways: Bowl: chili in a bowl Two-Way: chili and spaghetti Three-Way: chili, spaghetti, and cheese Four-Way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, and onions Five-Way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions, and beans Source: Wikipedia Today, we'll be making it Five-Way!!  You can keep these ingredients on hand for a busy night and it takes a snap to whip it up!  And look how delicious it looks:

Unstuffed Pepper Soup

This recipe was delicious even with all the substitutions I tried.   So we'll start it off with the original recipe I got out of the cookbook.  I'm sure it would be good as that too.  It's really apparent now that I didn't even make the recipe that was in the cookbook!  But it was yummy and did indeed taste like a stuffed pepper.

This is what it looked like in the cookbook.

Unstuffed Pepper Soup

Taste of Home: Casseroles, Slow Cooker & Soups, Copyright 2008

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I used ground turkey)

3 large green peppers, chopped (I used red peppers)

1 large onion, chopped (I had about a half of a red onion and 1/4 white onion left)

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) beef broth (I used 2/3 box, about 22 oz of chicken stock)

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted (I used one can of Healthy Request tomato soup then refilled the can with low sodium V8 juice and poured it in)

1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes, undrained (I used 1 regular sized can of diced tomatoes - mine had oregano, basil and garlic - I had accidentally picked up)

1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained (I didn't use at all)

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, cook the beef, green peppers, and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Stir in the broth, soup, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add rice and heat through.  Yield: 10 servings

Well I started off in the largest pot I had.  I added the peppers and onions and a little extra virgin olive oil.  But when I added the turkey, the pot quickly got too small.  I know what they mean now when they say "don't crowd the pot." It was just pushing the turkey around the pot without actually cooking it and the turkey started sticking to the side.  I think soon I'm going to treat myself to a nice set of pots and pans.

So I put the cooking contents in the skillet and cooked the meat, peppers, and onion and then returned it to the pot.

Here are the substitutions I used.  It tasted delicious with these!  I had all this stuff on hand and decided it was close enough to the original recipe to get the same idea.  I was worried about the tomatoes, but they did fine.  Don't you hate when you pick up something off the grocery store shelf just to find when you get home it's something totally different?!  Grr.  That's what I had done with these tomatoes. Oh well!

It made a HUGE pot full.  Especially once I added the rice.  I absolutely LOVE this microwavable rice.  I use it all the time!  It's so easy and no mess.  We're going to have this for lunch tomorrow and then I'm thinking about freezing the rest.  I plan on turning leftovers into a chili by adding a can of beans (and maybe corn) to it when I reheat it.

To serve, I added some shredded swiss cheese and it hit the spot on a chilly night!

The verdict:
A great recipe!  Very versatile, as you can see by my many substitutions.  This would be easy to make vegetarian by adding some meat substitute crumbles instead of turkey or beef.  I'm sure it would be delicious with the green peppers.  The red peppers made it sweeter.   And I love the fact that it makes a HUGE amount!  This recipe would also be easily converted to a crockpot recipe.  After you cook the meat with the peppers and onions, transfer to a crockpot with the other liquids and turn on low 4 hours or high for 2.  (The time is my guestimate - so check for yourself after a few hours :))


UPDATE: I added 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed, a splash of low sodium V8 juice, 1/4 envelope of chili seasoning, and the rest of the soup to a pot on the stove.  I cooked it until heated through and bubbly, for about 15 - 20 minutes.  Serve it with cheese and a dolup of sour cream for a hearty, easy round 2 chili.