Slow Cooker Chili – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Slow Cooker Sunday: Chicken Enchilada Chili

When it comes to chili the possibilities are endless. I’ve posted quite a few on this blog, traditional, vegetarian, beef and today I am bringing you a chicken one. A Chicken Enchilada Chili that is easily made in a slow cooker. And not surprisingly it’s one of my favorites, set it in the slow cooker and forget it. Lately with these types of recipes I’ve been cooking the recipes overnight in my slow cooker. I am apprehensive to leave my slow cooker on if I’m not home but somehow I am okay with sleeping while it’s on. It’s the best though, I place all of the ingredients in around 12m and by 8am it’s done. I’m an early riser so this actually works out best for me. My food is done in the morning and I can attend to other things during the day. Since I usually do this on a Saturday night my Sunday then consists of cleaning, laundry and all those other fun Sunday things to do.

One of the great things about this chili is that it gets better each day. I would suggest heating your leftovers on the stove as opposed to the microwave. Because of the cream cheese, which makes this chili super creamy, you may find that your chilled leftovers become quite thick and I personally think heating the chilled leftovers on the stove re-melts the cream cheese perfectly as opposed to the microwave. Either way, make sure to add some toppings before enjoying. I enjoyed mine with avocado and shredded cheddar and it was perfect! Squeeze some fresh lime juice to really bring out the flavors.

Oh, one more thing. Per the directions it says to cook the chili on low for 6 to 8 hours until the chicken shreds easily, don’t worry about overcooking. As I said, I cooked this overnight and left it for the full 8 eight hours without checking it prior and my chicken was perfect for shredding by then and the rest of my ingredients hadn’t suffered because of the extra time in the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Chili

Servings: 6
Print

Ingredients:

1 10 oz. can red enchilada sauce

1 14.5 oz. can of petite dice tomatoes with green chilies*

1 16 oz. can of chili beans in mild chili sauce**

1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz. can of corn, drained

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts

2 cups chicken broth or stock

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon ground paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, at room temperature

Toppings: sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, avocado, lime, cilantro

*I used a can of Rotel

**Available from Bush’s beans

Directions:

In the insert of your slow cooker add the enchilada sauce, tomatoes, chili beans, black beans, corn and chicken. Add in the chicken broth (or stock) and the seasonings and give everything a good stir.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until the chicken will shred easily.

Remove the chicken and shred using two forks. Set aside.

Cube the softened cream cheese and add to the slow cooker. Stir well and cover. Switch the temperature setting to high and let the chili sit for five minutes. Use a whisk to whisk the cream cheese to melt into the chili.

Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and cover. Continue cooking on high until the cream cheese has completely melted and then stir again.

Serve with your desired toppings.

Recipe from Chelsea’s Messy Apron

Slow Cooker Sunday: Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes

I’ve posted a fair amount of chili recipes and today I am bringing you one more… A Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes. This chili is loaded with kidney beans, black beans and chunks of sweet potato. And if you are not keen on spicy chili then this is the chili for you.

While I normally do most of my slow cooking on Sunday’s I ended up making this chili in my slow cooker overnight Saturday to Sunday since I had plans to go apple picking on this particular Sunday. I like to be home when my slow cooker is on, I know it’s completely safe and all, but, I just don’t like leaving it unattended. Also, if there happens to be a power outage I can always switch the dish to cook in the oven or on the stove as opposed to my entire meal being ruined because it didn’t cook properly, especially with a meat dish. I once read that if you do leave your slow cooker unattended and there happens to be a power outage and you’re cooking meat the best bet is to toss the food since you can never be sure of bacteria growing. And yes, I know it’s not any safer to have it on while I am sleeping, we can all recall how Jack died on “This Is Us” (even though the slow cooker wasn’t on but had a switch malfunction), in the back of my mind it’s safer thanks to my smoke detector and my keen nose. Speaking of my keen nose, the delicious aromas of this chili woke me prior to the 7-hour cooking mark and I couldn’t go back to sleep, so, I decided to check on it and happily discovered that the sweet potatoes were fork tender so I was able to turn it off and go back to sleep. If it had been on any longer the sweet potatoes would have turned to mush, but, as you can see from the picture below the sweet potato was intact.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes

Servings: 4
Print

Ingredients:

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 14.5 ounce cans of diced fire roasted peppers

1 15.5 ounce can of black beans, rinsed

1 15.5 ounce can of red kidney beans, rinsed

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Options for serving: sour cream, sliced scallions, shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chips

Directions:

In the insert of your slow cooker combine the onion, pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add the tomatoes (and their juices), beans, sweet potato and 1 cup of water.

Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened, 7-8 hours on low and 4 to 5 hours on high.

Serve with your favorite toppings or eat on its own.

Recipe from Real Simple

Slow Cooker Sunday: Smoky Beef Chili

So, I have made chili before but, this was the first time I’ve made chili using beef chuck as opposed to ground beef and I must say it was a much heartier chili and definitely one I’ll make again.

This is my favorite type of slow cooker meal… Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker, give it a good stir and set it to cook…