100 Days of Real Food - Easy Slow Cooker Steak Chili

[lizzywednesday]

So, on the recommendation of my SIL, I've started to browse the recipes and tips at 100daysofrealfood.com.

With the Polar Vortex chill in my area, chili sounded like an EXCELLENT idea to DH, so I made this:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/201...r-steak-chili/

While I found it to be a little bland, it is really, honestly, and truly EASY.

Just chuck everything into the CrockPot and let it sit for 5-6 hours on high. I served it over my mildly-garlic mashed potatoes.

I'll definitely make it again, but will probably play with the spices a bit more in the future.

DD didn't eat it, but she's also been snacking in the evenings, so maybe we'll have to institute a "no snacking" rule to ensure she eats dinner.

[lizzywednesday]

OK, attempt #2 of the slow cooker chili went much better.

I added 1/2-Tbsp of good tomato paste (2 ingredients - tomatoes & salt), 1/8th tsp of ground coriander, and fresh-ground black pepper.

Next time, I'm adding more cumin.

The tomato paste made it a lot less soupy, which was much better. I think I'll add a bit more next time.

[lovin2shop]

Thanks, I plan to try this one out soon!

[TwinFoxes]

Thanks, I'll give this a try.

[lizzywednesday]

I forgot to add that for the 2nd time through, I set it for about 8 hours on LOW and it turned out really nicely.

Not that I'm opposed to cooking on HIGH, you understand, but the meat wasn't fresh this time, it had been frozen. I'd purchased a 5lb package of stew beef to make it the first time and portioned it out into 1.5-lb (and one 0.5-lb) portions using freezer bags and my kitchen scale.

Yes, I have a kitchen scale. It's not the greatest, but it gets the job done. (And, quite frankly, I may be upgrading to a nicer one after this so I can continue to buy in bulk.)