Slow-Cooker Pumpkin Turkey Chili

There’s no other fall flavor as perfect as pumpkin. Pairing pumpkin with chili creates a wonderful autumn dish. I pretty much always make my chili in my slow-cooker just because it’s so easy to do and dinner is already done when I come home from a long day at work. Made with ground turkey, this healthy chili loses nothing in flavor for your pickiest meat-eaters.

Adapted from: Pumpkin Turkey Chili, Serious Eats

Ingredients

1 (14 ½ ounce) can red kidney beans

1 (14 ½ ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 pound ground turkey, browned and drained

1 cup chopped onion

½ green bell pepper, chopped

½ yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 cups (14 ½ ounce can) pumpkin puree

1 ½ tablespoons chili powder

½ tablespoon cumin

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper to taste (at least 3 good shakes)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Toppings:

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Hot sauce

Directions

Put ingredients in slow cooker in the order listed. Carefully stir. Cover and cook on low 10 to 12 hours or high 5 to 6 hours. Cover for another 10 minutes.

Garnish with favorite toppings and serve hot.

Slow-Cooker Oatmeal

My favorite everyday breakfast is a hot, steaming bowl of oatmeal. I don’t really care for instant oatmeal. For me, it has to be cooked the old-fashioned way to produce a nice thick, sticky texture. This recipe makes it as easy as possible to enjoy a bowl first thing in the morning by letting the slow-cooker do all the work. You just need to set it up at night before you go to bed, and you wake up to a hot breakfast.

Since oatmeal is a matter of personal preference—some people like a thick consistency while others like it a little soupy—you may have to play with the amount of oats or water to suit your taste. For me, I like it somewhere in between—not a gloppy gelatinous glue-like texture, but more on the thick side than the soupy side. I like it to be pourable but thick. When I make this recipe, I use steel-cut oats and 4 ½ cups of water.

Keep in mind, not all oats are created equal. There is a difference between steel-cut oats and regular rolled oats. Steel-cut oats (sometimes called Irish oats, Scotch oats, or coarse-cut oats) are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) that have been cut into only two or three pieces. Rolled oats, on the other hand, are traditionally oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes.

Because of the textural differences, cooking times will vary between them—rolled oats need less cooking time than the steel-cut oats. The basic recipe provided here is for steel-cut oats. If you are using rolled oats, be sure that they are not quick cooking or instant, and reduce the cooking time from 8 hours to 4 hours using an automatic timer.

Source: How to Make Crockpot Oatmeal, Tipnut.com

Ingredients
4 cups water
1 cups steel-cut oats
¼ teaspoon salt

Toppings (optional):
Brown sugar
Maple syrup
Fruit pieces (e.g., apples, blueberries, bananas, dried cranberries, figs, etc.)
Half-and-half

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and turn on low heat. Cover with lid and cook for 8 hours. Add toppings and serve hot.

Slow-Cooker Three Bean and Meaty Chili

Everyone seems to have their “go-to” chili, and this one is mine. Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you—the slow cooker does all the work! I love a really thick, chunky chili with depth of flavor. I use ground bison, which is leaner and sweeter than beef. The chipotle chile imparts a smoky spicy flavor that is offset by the subtle sweetness of the brown sugar. (If you like a less spicy chili, remove the seeds from the chipotle chili before mincing.) Masa harina, a Mexican corn flour, should be stirred in at the end of cooking to help thicken the liquid slightly and give off a hint of corn flavor. Serve with your favorite chili toppings, and pair with a salad or cornbread.

Ingredients
1 (15 ½ ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ½ ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ½ ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 pound ground bison (or ground beef), browned and drained
1 pound diced beef sirloin, browned and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
2 teaspoons adobo sauce from the can of chipotles
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons masa harina

Toppings
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Sour cream
Scallions, chopped
Jalapeno peppers, chopped
Salsa
Crackers

Directions
Put ingredients in slow cooker in the order listed, through salt and pepper. Carefully stir. Cover and cook on low 10 to 12 hours or high 5 to 6 hours. Add masa harina and stir. Cover for another 10 minutes.

Garnish with favorite toppings and serve hot.

Mu Shu Chicken Wraps

McHubby and I often pack and take our lunch to work. While I can appreciate a good PB&J every now and then, sandwiches can be pretty boring to take every day. So I try to find recipes that are quick to make, easy to pack, and delicious. This one is made in the slow cooker. Then we pack the shredded chicken, napa cabbage, and tortillas separately—ready to assemble for lunch.
The original recipe is listed below, but I also added one clove of garlic, minced.

Source: Mu Shu Chicken Wraps, Southern Living Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients
1 medium onion, diced
2 pounds skineed and boned chicken thighs
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon sesame or vegetable oil
¾ cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons rice wine
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas (I used wheat flour tortillas) 3 cups shredded napa cabbage
½ cup thinly sliced green onions

Directions
Place onion in a 3- or 4-quart slow cooker.

Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Brown chicken 2 to 3 minutes on each side in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove skillet from heat, and place chicken on top of onion in slow cooker.

Whisk together hoisin sauce and next 4 ingredients; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook 5 hours. Shred chicken in cooker with fork.


Top each tortilla evenly with cabbage, chicken, and green onions. Fold bottom edge of each tortilla in to hold filling; roll tortilla crosswise, and, if desired, secure with wooden picks or parchment paper. Makes 8 servings.