Happy Monday, Friends!! I’m excited to have Brian take over the blog today to share his “famous chili” recipe and slow cooker chili bar!! We had family over this weekend and set up this slow cooker chili bar which was such a hit! It was nice being able to set everything up before hand and letting everyone serve themselves at their leisure.
A couple things I want to note before we hand it over to Bri. We cooked the chili in a dutch oven on the stove because we didn’t have time to slow cook it. As soon as the beef was cooked through and all the ingredients were in, we transferred it to our slow cooker so we could set everything up on our island. It has a nice flow when everything is all right there, hence the “slow cooker chili bar” concept. Plus, in the slow cooker you can just leave it all day without worrying about the stove being on.
I also have a really good chili HACK for you! I learned that if you don’t feel like baking corn bread from scratch, there is an EXCELLENT alternative. The honey cornbread from Krusteaz is DELICIOUS. I baked it according to the instructions and added one sliced jalapeno to the top right before it was about to go in the oven. Everyone thought I made it myself and was asking for the recipe. I love kitchen hacks like this!!
Tips for the Slow Cooker Chili Bar
Ahh, the fun part!! Setting up is always my favorite. We have this slow cooker and we’ve had it since we moved in together soooo 10 years 😬It’s the original Crock Pot brand and it’s served us very well these past ten years without a hitch! Crazy, right?
We also use Corelle bowls. Another game changing discovery. My mom uses Corelle at their Florida house and it’s SO good for kids because it’s essentially unbreakable. I love the size of these bowls and plan on using them for morning cereal, too! They’re light weight and fit in our dishwasher much better than our hunky Pottery Barn ones.
You’ll need lots of little serving bowls for your toppings. I thought this set of three was so cute and I envision myself using it for lots of different appetizers, and even desserts! The wooden paddle holds the bowls in place so they don’t move when people dip in! I also ordered this set but they didn’t arrive in time!
Brian
Hi Everyone – My name is Brian Joy and I am a Buffalo Bills fan. Born and raised in Upstate NY and as you can imagine have a lot of traditions especially when it comes to comfort food and the Bills Mafia. Game day favorites include chicken wings, garbage plates (late night), and of course, my Sunday chili. Wanted to give you a simple and delicious beef chili recipe that can be done in 30 mins and will have your neighbors/fellow tailgaters coming back every week. Just made this for Liz and she approves! Share yours on #purejoyeats
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 2 green pepper, chopped
- 2 red pepper, chopped
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 2 (15oz) can red kidney beans
- 2 (28 oz) diced tomatoes
- 1 Beer
Toppings:
- shredded Cheddar Cheese
- sour Cream
- scallions
- jalapeño pepper
- cilantro
- avocado
- hot sauce
- tortilla chips (Liz likes the blue ones)
Steps
In a large dutch oven pot, we like this one, over low heat add extra virgin olive oil and sauté your chopped onion for 5 mins, or until translucent.
Add in ground beef and minced garlic and cook until beef is no longer pink. drain the fat.
Add in spices, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and beer (optional but delicious).
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 mins, or all day.
Spice up your life
Just add more chili powder, cumin, pepper flakes or cayenne (be careful)
Swap the meat
chicken and vegetarian (you do you)
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