Slow Cooker Sundays: Cheesy Sausage & White Bean Chili

Happy Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!  This football season, we have purposely and sincerely dedicated Sundays to slooooow cookin.  This week my crockpot was graced to the brim with Cheesy Sausage and White Bean Chili (adapted from Sandra Lee’s Cheesy Chorizo Chili Recipe).

Isn’t it pretty???

DSCF8153

Despite how beautiful the final product might appear, the process of slow cooking usually results in some sort of mess in the kitchen.  Well, actually it’s all cooking.  Me merely stepping a foot into the kitchen should serve as fair warning of impending disasters.  One dish usually results in a few sauce splatters on the wall, some chopped onions on the floor, no less than 7 dirtied utensils, a burner or two accidentally left on, and every inch of counter littered with various cooking debris.  So, I’m not exactly organized in the kitchen… What can I say?  I like to become one with my food Smile

The key to any successful slow cooked meal is a few glasses of wine to pass the time.  You might suggest that I use all that waiting time to clean the mess I’ve created in the kitchen.  To that I say, “I cook, you clean.  So quit your yapping and get to scrubbing.”

DSCF8167

To assemble this chili, you’ll first want to brown your sausage in a skillet.  Any turkey or chicken sausage will do—I prefer a spicy variety like Harris Teeter Hot Chicken Sausage or Jennie O’ Hot Turkey Sausage.

Next gather up your ingredients:

DSCF8151

Don’t mind the Limited bag in the background… I partook in a bit of retail therapy this weekend.  I scored a few sale items and am feeling MUCH better, thank you.

Toss all your canned goods, spices, and cooked sausage into the crockpot and mix to combine.  Then, let the chili cook for 6 hours on low.  When it’s time to chow, I like to top my chili with a dollop of Trader Joes fat free Greek yogurt, some sliced green onions, and a few corn tortilla chips:

DSCF8160

This chili is a beautiful rust orange color, pretty darn thick, and extremely tasty.  Even though this chili doesn’t have the standard tomato sauce chili base, it hit all the right notes on the seasoning scale.  Jarrod and I both gave this chili two thumbs up… We had some for lunch… and then some for dinner… and between the two of us devoured the entire batch in a period of six and half hours.  Don’t judge.

DSCF8156

Total cheesy comfort in a bowl.

DSCF8164

Cheesy Sausage & White Bean Chili Ingredients List (serves 5)

  • 5 links hot chicken or turkey sausage (such as Harris Teeter brand)
  • 3 15 ounce cans white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 10.75 ounce can condensed cheddar cheese soup
  • 1 can mild Rotel Tomatoes
  • 1 can diced green chilis
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp burrito seasoning (McCormicks)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • Chopped green onions

Stats on one serving:   366 calories, 49g carbs, 7g fat, 35g protein, 14g fiber

/


 

Continue Reading

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

DSCF8080

We’ve started a new (to us) tradition:  Slow Cooker Sundays!  Every Sunday this football season we’re going to bust out the Crockpot (or two) and cook up some comforting treats!  This past Sunday our slow cooked supper was courtesy of Skinny Taste’s Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili recipe!

As you would expect with any slow cooker recipe, this was quite easy to throw together.  I made a few minor tweaks to the original recipe… When do I not?!

All you do is toss the following into the crock:

  • 1 chopped white onion
  • 2 16-oz cans beans of your choice, drained and rinsed (I used blacks beans)
  • 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
  • 1.5 cups frozen corn kernels
  • 3 10-oz cans Rotel Tomatoes
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp chili powder

Give everything a stir to combine:

DSCF8050

Then plop about 30 ounces of raw chicken breasts on top and push them down slightly into the liquid.

We cooked our chili on high for 5.5 hours then pulled out the chicken breasts and gave them a quick shred with two forks.  The chicken literally fell apart as I grabbed it!

DSCF8074

Toss the chicken back in and 30 minutes later it is time to feast!  We served our chili with a 1/2 serving of brown rice, dollop of Fat Free Trader Joe’s Plain Greek Yogurt, and a big ole handful of chopped raw onions.

DSCF8079

There may have also been some Fritos added last minute Smile

DSCF8083

This makes six hearty servings.

Stats on 1 hearty serving (no fixin’s):  347 calories, 44g carbs, 4g fat, 39g protein, 10g fiber

Ingredients List for Crock Pot Chicken Chili (serves 6):

  • 1 chopped white onion
  • 2 16-oz cans beans of your choice, drained and rinsed (I used blacks beans)
  • 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
  • 1.5 cups frozen corn kernels
  • 3 10oz cans Rotel Tomatoes
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 30 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast
  • Chopped raw onion (optional… really though, raw onions MAKE the chili don’t they?)
  • Greek yogurt or sour cream (optional)
  • Brown rice (optional)
  • Fritos (strongly encouraged)

What is your favorite slow cooker recipe?  I’m on the lookout for something tasty to make this Sunday, so links would be super!

/

Continue Reading