Kitchen Adventures 7.1

Oh my, I am so far behind! I didn't realize it's been over a month since I shared my kitchen creations. December was a busy month, to say the least. It started off with Harry Potter and the Big 12 championship game with friends, the next weekend held the Eilert family Christmas up in Kansas City (36 in attendance, not too shabby!), then I got sick immediately after coming back home. :/ Those couple days really threw me for a loop and delayed all my baking endeavors. It even meant I missed my own monthly birthday party at work. :( I recovered in time for a small birthday gathering and church things, then it was time to head up to Kansas for Christmas. And there went the month! Time at home was wonderful, getting to see all my family and some friends. It's never a long enough visit it seems, no matter how long it is. But with all that being said, that is the long excuse for not updating sooner. I'll amend that right now, though, with a succession of posts to catch up before 2010 comes to a close.

This first recipe is one I have turned to over the past few winters as my chili standby recipe. Now, I know everyone is very particular about their chili and has their favorite recipe. This is an easy one that I like, and I will admit, this last batch was not the best. It showed me the importance of having a good chili seasoning mix, because Target does not carry the brand I would normally get. It did get better the second time around, though, which is good.

This particular chili recipe comes from a cookbook I got for Christmas several years ago. It's called Rival Crock Pot 3 Books in 1 and includes "Slow Cooker Favorites," "Winning Slow Cooker Recipes," and "Slow Cooker Recipes for All Occasions." This one comes from the "Slow Cooker Favorites" section and is pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself. Enjoy!

McCormick's Weeknight Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, undrained
1 pkg. chili seasoning (of course they use McCormick's but you can use whatever you like)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Cook meat in a skillet until brown, then drain. Transfer meat to your slow cooker and stir in tomato sauce, beans, and seasoning. Cover and cook on low for 1 to 2 hours or on high for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir before serving and top with cheese. * I always end up cooking mine on high because I just can't wait or don't have enough time. :)

Here are a few pics: