Recipe: Slow cooker chili

by Becky (from Momstown Ottawa) On those busy days there isn't anything better than having supper taken care of. When it's 4 pm and I forgot to take something out of the freezer for supper, or simply don't have the energy to decide what to make, it can be a resentful and stressful time.

For me, my slow cooker is a supper saver some nights. I'm able to prepare it when the kids are happy (or at school) earlier in the day, and it's ready when we want to eat, or when my husband gets home from work. No matter how busy we've been in between.

Have a favourite slow cooker recipe? Share it in the comments! Below is my recipe for beef chili. It's a family crowd pleaser (also a go-to when we have a group of people over!)

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This recipe isn’t a hot chili – so feel free to add more tobasco if you prefer extra heat. However, it is very garlicky which we love!

If you are a new cook, this is an easy, family pleasing meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-Extra lean ground beef (or turkey) – about 1 package (2 pounds)

-4 cups crushed tomatoes (I use 2 large cans)

-2 cans red kidney beans, drained

-1-2 pepper(s) chopped

-2 cups mushrooms, sliced or chopped

-1 chopped onion

-6 cloves crushed, fresh garlic

-2-3 tablespoons chili powder

-3 dashes tobasco sauce

Directions:

1-In frying pan or wok, cook meat. When cooked, add garlic, onions, peppers and mushrooms. Let cook until onions start to get tender and translucent. (Note: In a pinch for time? Just cook the meat and add the raw veggies directly into the crock pot as in step 2. Cooking the veggies and garlic makes more of the yummy flavours come out, but isn’t a must.)

2-In the crockpot, add tomatoes, beans, chili powder and tobasco sauce.

3-Add meat mixture to the crock pot.

4-Simmer on low for 5-6 hours, or on high for 3-4.

5-Serve with your favourite fresh bread, garlic bread, or with nacho chips and sour cream (my favourite way! You don’t even need a spoon. And note: the 2 measly chips in the picture below are for show only. I eat half the bag with it…)

For leftovers (or for my son!) I make a plate of nachos, baked in the oven with melted cheese on top. My son gets his like this because, while he will eat a bowl of chili, if the nachos are available he’ll just eat those. This way, to get to the nachos, he has to also eat the chili.

originally posted on www.bitofmomsense.com

Still looking for more slow cooker recipes? Try these from momstown meals:

Slow Cooker Spiced Apple Chicken

Slow Cooker Indian Cauliflower

Slow Cooker Bean Soup

momstown is for neighbourhood moms wanting to connect for support, conversation and  fun.  We are currently looking to expand into Ottawa and are seeking an entrepreneurial mom who might be ready to start an exciting new career!  For updates and information visit our momstown Ottawa blog.

Valentine's Day Dinner

by Carly

We love to celebrate Valentine's Day with a nice family dinner.  We set the table with our nicest dishes, keeping to a red and white theme.  Jake loves shaped pancakes so I had fun making heart-shaped ones for our special dinner.

I had a few heart-shaped cookie cutters laying around, so after mixing my pancake batter and pre-heating the pan, I sprayed the cookie cutters with cooking oil and placed them in the pan.  Add the batter, be careful not to overfill the cutters.  When the pancake starts to bubble, use a pair of tongs to remove the cookie cutter from the pan.  You may need to gently cut around the edge of the cutter with a knife to loosen the pancake first.  Once the cookie cutter is removed, flip the pancake and cook it on the other side.  Be sure to re-spray the cookie cutters with cooking oil before using them for the next pancake.

 

Since my husband isn't big on pancakes, I made him some heart shaped eggs, using the same method.

 

Topped with maple syrup, some powdered sugar and homemade fruit salad, our pancakes made with a lot of love were a big hit!

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband and her 5 year old son, Jacob.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.

Maple Syrup Snow Candy

by Jayda

Need something fun to do on a cold winter day in the Capital? Why not make candy? Maple syrup snow candy!

Ingredients:

1 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup EarthBalance butter (or unsalted butter)

Directions:

1. Heat the syrup and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

2. The mixture is ready 6 to 7 minutes after it boils (220 to 234 degrees on a candy thermometer); soft ball stage.

3. Remove from heat and cool for 2 minutes. Bundle the kids up and find some clean snow to pour the cooled maple syrup over. It cools quickly so that kids can taste it right away.

Bonus:

Maple syrup is a significant source of several nutrients. For example, on average, a 60 ml (4-tbs) serving of maple syrup supplies more than 100% of our daily intake of manganese, 37% of riboflavin, 18% of zinc, 7% of magnesium and 5% of calcium and potassium.

Jayda is a nutritionist and researcher, living under a co-dictatorship, a master mediator, whole food advocate, living a little greener everyday. She can be found at EatWhole Be Vital.

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

by Carly

Jake loves to help in the kitchen and making cakes or cupcakes is probably one of his favourite things to do. In light of Valentine's Day coming up, we decided to make some cupcakes to bring over to a friend's house.

We decided to make "rainbow" cupcakes, by separating the cake batter into four bowls (after it's been mixed) and colouring one bowl purple, one red and one pink.  We left the fourth bowl white.  I used both paste food colouring (for the red) and liquid food colouring for the pink and purple.  To make it easier for Jake to mix the colours into the X's and O's baking cups we picked up at the Dollar Store, I spooned the batter in freezer baggies and snipped a tiny hole in one corner.  We carefully put a bit of each colour into the baking cups, then baked the cupcakes according to the directions on the mix.

Baked

When the cupcakes had cooled, we iced them with pink and purple icing, topped with heart shaped sprinkles and tiny coloured dots.  Mmm!

Decorating

Finished

Eating

Do you make any Valentine's treats with your kids?

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband, her five year old son, Jacob and her brand spanking new son, Noah. Probably in reverse order. She also blogs

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More Tasty Snacks from Budsie

by Ezmy Ages ago, back when Budsie was just a wee little dude who couldn’t walk or terrorize the cat, I shared a favourite recipe of his: Budsie Oatmeal. Well, today we have a new favourite: Budsie’s Trio of Super Yogurt. Super easy, super tasty (even for mums and dads), and super good for you.  Yay!

Budsie’s Trio of Super Yogurt

-1/3 cup Balkan-style, plain, full fat yogurt (with yogurt, you simply must go full fat)

-1/4 cup berries (blueberries are Budsie’s personal favourite, but I enjoy raspberries. Tip: buy boatloads of berries when they are on sale and freeze them for future use!)

-1 tbsp of ground almonds

-1 tsp ground flax seed

Mix everything together in a bowl. Serve with a spoon, although little hands do love to fish the berries out first. Serves one awesome toddler at snack time. Enjoy!

Ezmy is mum to son Ewan (aka Budsie). When she isn't working on her master's thesis, or playing games with her boy, she's blogging furiously on Ezmy Writes, talking about life as a stay-at-home mum in our nation's capital. Ezmy can also be found on Winefox.ca; here, Ezmy learns about tannins and other fancy wine lingo. Follow on Ezmy on Twitter (@ezmytweets) where she posts updates on life with an active and very vocal baby