Cheri’s Slow Cooker Chili – My new favorite halloween recipe

Why did the Invisible Man flunk out of school? Because the teacher kept marking him absent! This was the best joke that I heard this year….and honestly, it wasn’t that great. I heard all of the “oldies but goodies” but there still wasn’t anything that made me laugh uncontrollably. Well, there was that 2-year-old that said, “whole bunch” and held up his pumpkin after I gave him 2 pieces of candy. Apparently he wanted more. It was cute, and it worked, but his parents were mortified. Hey, at least he knows how to ask for what he wants.

What’s Halloween without chili? It’s like Thanksgiving without turkey, Christmas without snow, St. Patrick’s day without beer, Mardi Gras without….um, well, I’ll skip that one. Each year I make chili for Halloween. I take that back, the hubby usually makes beef chili and I make my chicken chili. This year we decided to find a recipe for chili and make a big pot of only 1 kind of chili. I searched through Allrecipes and came across one of their highest rated recipes. Of course I had to adapt it to make it my own, including making it a slow cooker recipe. If I can put something in the crockpot to cook all day, I will do it!

The hardest part of this recipe is chopping up all of the fresh veggies. You could probably put it all in a food processor or buy pre-chopped to save time. Either way, this recipe is pretty simple and very forgiving. If you don’t have the beans that the recipe calls for, use what you do have…within reason. I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t want to use baked beans or garbanzo beans, but hopefully you already knew that.

I adapted my version to be gluten free by using this bouillon. But you can use regular bouillon if you don’t have an issue with gluten.

This recipe makes a TON of chili, so be prepared to feed a crowd or have tons of leftovers. I guess I need to start researching recipes that will help me use up my leftover chili. We’ve already done chili dogs, so maybe some chili mac??? Anyone want to come over for some chili?!

This recipe has been shared at:
A Southern Fairytale
11th Heaven’s Homemaking Haven


Cheri’s Slow Cooker Chili
Adapted from: Allrecipes.com
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 pounds bulk Italian sausage
3/4 cup water
4 cubes beef bouillon
1/4 cup chili powder
2 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
2 (28 ounce) cans petite diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons white sugar

Directions:
In large skillet, brown ground beef and sausage. Drain and add to large crockpot. Dissolve bouillon in water to form a concentrated broth and pour into crockpot. Add the reminder of the ingredients to the crockpot, stir to combine and cook on low for up to 8 hours. *I prepared this the night before and just stored in the fridge and put it in the crockpot the following morning.

White Chicken Chili – Blue Owl Restaurant Copycat Recipe

Kimmswick, Missouri is a wonderful little town that attracts thousands of visiters every year. It has tiny little shops that are filled with handmade craft and foods. They have several festivals each year, and I have yet to attend any of them. Kimmswick really isn’t my “cup of tea” but they have a really amazing restaurant there call The Blue Owl. They have some of the most visually appealing baked goods I have ever seen, and they taste amazing too. The have a pie that’s called “Levee High Apple Pie.” I’m not exactly sure how big this thing is, but the dome reminds me of a cowboy hat. I’m not sure if there is ANY reason to make a pie this big, except for the fact that it’s really cool! There’s nothing wrong with extreme foods as long as they are in moderation. Fried Twinkies shouldn’t fall into the category of extreme foods…they should be a staple. So, go ahead and eat as many of those as you want.

The Blue Owl isn’t just known for their baked goods, they have a great lunch menu. I always order the same thing, Chicken Salad Croissant with a cup of White Chicken Chili. The chicken salad is really good, but the white chicken chili steals the show. It is full of beans and stringy, monterey jack cheese. Great, now I’m hungry!

I can’t remember exactly why or even when I started making this chili. I know that I searched the web for weeks until I found the right recipe. There are lots of imposters out there, so don’t be fooled into making those recipes. The one I am posting today is the right one.

I have made this for just about every fall party that I have. I make it for Halloween, my birthday, and for work potlucks. It’s a very simple recipe, but do not swap out any of the ingredients, specifically the Monterey Jack cheese. I realize that there are plenty of cheese mixtures available, that contain Monterey Jack, but don’t get a mixture. Get the real stuff or the recipe won’t be an exact copycat. If you don’t care about being exact, then feel free to swap it out for your favorite cheese. If you would like to put this in the crockpot, follow all of the cooking steps, add to crockpot, but DO NOT add the cheese until right before you are ready to serve it because the cheese will stick together and possibly burn. You can also use a rotissere chicken from the grocery store to save time on the preparation.

Enjoy this soup and share it with your family and neighbors, or eat it all by yourself, and then chant the famous “Beans, Beans…” song to embarass your children or your spouse.

Sorry, guys…I don’t have any pics of the soup at this time. This was a special request by my friend “N” and I haven’t had time to make it and take pictures yet this year.

White Chicken Chili – Blue Owl Restaurant Copycat
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion – chopped
5 cloves garlic – minced
2 (4 oz) cans of mild, chopped green chilis
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cans great northern beans – undrained
5 cups chicken broth/stock
4 cups of chopped chicken
4 cups (2 packages) grated monterey jack cheese

Directions:

Heat olive oil in stock pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft and translucent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant (do not burn) approx. 1 minute.

Reduce heat to low and add chilis, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper and stir to combine.

Add undrained beans and broth and increase heat to high to bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and add chicken and cheese. Stir until cheese melts. If you are putting the soup in the crockpot to be served later, place in crockpot without the cheese and add cheese just before serving.

p.s. This recipe is gluten free too!