Yum! Yum! Yum!

As my sister insisted I bought a slow cooker for 2015 Thanks Giving. Usually I don't like buying unnecessary kitchen gadgets as they take up lot of space in kitchen. I get tempted lot of times to buy Food Processor or Standup Mixer, but never owned one, for the same reason. When I went to Thanks Giving shopping in 2015, with my sister, she made me buy electric griddle and slow cooker. I have used electric griddle a lot in the whole year 2016 , but never opened slow cooker. So for Thanks Giving 2016 I was determined to open the Slow Cooker, so i finally experimented Vegetarian Chili , in slow cooker ( which was long time due on my recipe list). That was just the beginning and there is no end. Lot of Slow Cooker recipes started happening in my kitchen these days, esp for this cold winter season, hot slow cooker recipes are best to give warmth and comfort. You should really thank my sister, otherwise I would't be trying all these recipes and bringing these to you. Wink, wink..;-) !



I wanted my first slow cooker recipe to be Vegeterian Chili, so I have browsed several recipes, but didn't settle on any one. Finally I ended making my own version chili with the vegetables that I had handy at that time. Here is the recipe, Njoy!

Step by Step View

Ingredients:
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Onion - 1 medium
Zucchini - 1
Yellow Bell Pepper - 1
Carrot - 1
Crushed Tomatoes - 1 can
Black Beans - 1 can
Pickled Jalapeños - 10 ( or Deseeded Fresh Jalapeno  - 1)
Cilantro - 1/4 cup

Spices:
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Kashmiri Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp ( or Paprika)
Salt - 1 tsp
Cajun Seasoning - 1/2 tsp ( or Garlic and Onion Powder - 1/2 tsp)
Brown Sugar -  1 tsp

Garnish:
Lime Juice  or Lime Wedges
Cheddar Cheese
Avocado Slices

Preparatory Steps:

• Take Black Beans out of the can and wash under running water in a colander. This helps to reduce the excess sodium in canned foods. 
• Chop onion into big pieces, chop Zucchini into medium size cubes. Trim edges, remove seeds from the bell pepper and chop into medium size cubes. 

Method:

1. In a non-stick pot, add Oil, once it is hot, add chopped onion pieces, Zucchini and bell pepper pieces. Saute for 5 min. Switch off the stove and transfer veggies to Slow Cooker ceramic pot. 
2. Add canned tomatoes to the pot followed by rinsed black beans. Add Jalapeno slices. Mix everything well in the pot. 
3. Add salt and spices to the pot. Add 1 cup of water, combine everything together. Close the lid. 
4. Set the Slow Cooker setting, Mode to Low, set timer to 4:00 hours. That is it. Do your work or shopping and come back in 4 hours. 
5. Now open the lid and adjust salt as needed. 
6. Serve Chili into wide bowl, Garnish with Avocado slices, cheddar cheese on top and lemon wedge on the side ( or sprinkle lemon juice on top), serve hot immediately. Serve some corn chips on the side to add little crunch. Yummmm! Nom, Nom...Nom!

so Delicious...!

• I was little greedy with spices and added green chilies also, that made this chili little spicy. You can reduce the spices according to your needs if you can't handle the spice. :-).
• If you don't have Kashmiri Red Chili Powder you can use 1/2 tsp of Paprika. Kashmiri red chili powder is very spicy and very bright in red color. 
• Cajun Seasoning will be little salty, if you are using it, adjust your salt accordingly. If you don't have cajun seasoning, you can add 1/2 tsp of Garlic Powder and 1/2 tsp of Onion Powder.

For 2014 Thanks Giving, I have bought NutriBullet, I have kept that in full use since then, you can browse all NutriBullet Recipes here.

Will be back with another spicy and winter recipe, stay tuned!
-Mythreyi