Fall has FINALLY arrived here in Oklahoma! Time for some chili!
General Notes: This is my first ever homemade chili, and I gotta say, I knocked it out of the park! I wasn’t sure if I’d have to go several rounds before I could come up with a recipe worth sharing, but this one definitely exceeded my expectations for a “first draft!”
For those who might be curious how I create recipes, here’s a sneak peek into the mind of Mrs. HappyHatter!
- First, I studied several chili recipes to get a general idea of what spices normally go into the dish.
- Then I considered that my kids aren’t a huge fan of super spicy things, so I opted not to include things like cayanne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- I thought about what spices were available at Aldi, since I like to make my recipes Aldi-Friendly.
- I knew I wanted lots of flavor, even if I couldn’t make it super spicy, so I threw in some red & yellow curry powder. It was a great decision!
- I know my husband doesn’t care for too many beans in his chili, (READ, NONE, lol) especially kidney beans. But a frugal gal’s gotta do what she can to stretch that grocery budget, so I used black and white beans instead, and kept the bean ratio low.
- I added veggies for flavor, texture and to boost the health factor.
- Knowing that I wanted to make this a crock-pot meal, I asked my mother-in-law if she ever did chili in her slow-cooker, (many advisors make the victory sure) and she said she didn’t like to do it because the beans get mushy. So I decided to put the beans on top until the very end, and see if that helped. They turned out perfectly! Thanks Mom/Teresa!
Spice Factor: This is a very flavorful, but mild chili. I wanted it to be “family-friendly.” If you want to give it a little extra kick try a tsp of cayanne pepper or red pepper flakes.
Aldi-Friendly: All of the ingredients are listed with their Aldi brands to make it easy for Aldi Shoppers, but you can shop for this recipe anywhere!
Gluten-Free: If you’ve been eating gluten-free for any length of time, you probably already know that Aldi’s spices might contain trace amounts of gluten, so you’ll have to shop for your spices elsewhere. I’m guessing that most of you will have all of these spices in your pantry, except maybe the curry powders. BUT, good news, the Stonemill Essentials Curry Powders are actually labeled Gluten-Free!!! Woot! I don’t know if that means Aldi is moving to make all of their spices gluten-free or not, but how awesome would that be?
Freezer Directions: This would be great as a freezer dump meal! Just remember to put your beans on the bottom of the bag so they end up on the top of the crock pot.
Kid Approval: My 5 year old liked it, but my 2 year old barely touched it. (Maybe I let him have too much corn bread, lol.) He really has no idea what he missed! This was a great chili!
Black & White Slow-Cooker Chunky Garden Chili (Aldi-Friendly & Gluten-Free)
Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 3.5 hours Total Time: 4 hours Servings: 6-8
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
2 green bell peppers, chopped “chunky”
3 multi-colored bell peppers, chopped “chunky”
1 large yellow onion, chopped “chunky”
2 (28 oz) cans Happy Harvest Crushed Tomatoes
1 can Dakota’s Pride Black Beans
1 can Dakota’s Pride White Cannellini Beans
2 tbsp chili powder*
1 tsp cumin*
1 tsp Red Curry Powder
1 tsp Yellow Curry Powder
2 tsp Oregano*
1 tsp Paprika*
2 tsp Salt*
2 tsp Pepper*
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
* Aldi Spice Brand, Stonemill Essentials, may contain trace glutens. (Except for their curry powder) To make this recipe free of trace gluten, you will need to use spices from your gluten-free pantry or from another store!
Instructions:
- Brown ground beef.
- While ground beef is brown, get your veggie chopping on
- Drain beef
- Place everything in slow cooker, in this order: Veggies, Meat, Spices, Beans, Tomatoes
- Cook on low for 3 hours (if you want to cook it longer and really let the flavors ruminate, leave the beans out ’til 3 hours before the end)
- Stir the pot
- Cook on high for 30 minutes and serve with cheese, crackers, cornbread, or toppings of your choice!
You might also be interested in:
