My Chili

I'm sure everyone makes their own chili in their own way, but I made some yesterday and it was pretty freakin' delicious, if I do say so myself.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 large can chili beans (with juice)
• 1 14 oz kidney beans (drained)
• 1 14 oz pinto beans (drained)
• 1 14 oz can Rotel (drained)
• garlic salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1.   Brown ground beef with onions (and a sprinkle of garlic salt), drain.
2. While browning ground beef, have beans & Rotel simmering.
3. Pour beef mixture into simmering bean mixture (gently!).
4. Season with pepper and garlic salt (or garlic powder & salt) to taste.
5. I highly recommend serving with cheese, sour cream, and yummy garlic bread.

Baked Potato Soup

I have to start off by saying that this recipe is already out in the blogsphere, over at A Year of Slow Cooking.  But trust me, this recipe is good enough that it needs to be repeated and spread as much as possible.  We have been having really yucky weather this week and this soup is the perfect thing to warm you up at night :)  Plus it's made in the crock pot so the work is minimal :)

Baked Potato Soup 

Ingredients

• 5 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced in 1 to 2-inch chunks 
• 1 teeny onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper 
• 2 quarts chicken broth 
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, to add at the end 
• crumbled bacon and green onion or chives as garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Peel and dice potatoes, add to slow cooker.
2. Dice onion & mince garlic, then add to slow cooker.
3. Sprinkle in seasonings and pour chicken broth in.
4. Cook on low for 8 hour or high for 4.
5. Potatoes should be fork-tender.  Mash with a hand masher or use immersion blender to create a smooth soup.

My Tips

• The original recipe recommends a 6 qt. slow cooker, but my 5 qt. one worked just fine.
• It takes longer than this recipe says IMO, about 4.45 so be sure to check it since times may differ with different slow cookers.
• I couldn't find my red pepper so I used 1/2 tablespoon of black pepper.  It was too much for me, not enough for hubs, so it's a matter of personal preference. 
• We like our potato soup to be a little chunky, so we just used the masher.
• I add bacon, because I love bacon.  We also add cheese to our individual portions.