Slow-Cooked Chile Con Carne

This week’s crock pot recipe comes from the April 2007 issue of Cooking Light. It was really good, and not spicy, which was good for the kids, but we added some chipotle to our bowls to give the chile a bit more punch. I also made it thicker by making a cornstarch slury, because I like my chile a little thicker than this recipe turns out. -s really enjoyed it, and it’s one of those dishes that doesn’t taste like it was made from a crockpot.

Our oldest has been asking for chili mac, so I mixed some of this chile with some pasta. He liked it, but he definitely loves that chile mac, so we’ll be having the chili mac next week.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb. sirloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 1/2 cups diced grape tomatoes
• 1 TBSP chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 1/2 c. cooking liquid + 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 chipotles with adobo sauce, minced.

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and beef to pan; cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring occasionally. Combine beef mixture, tomato, and next 6 ingredients (through broth) in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or until beef is tender. Uncover; cook 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. If you’d like it thicker, remove about 1/2 c. of liquid and put in a bowl; then mix in 1 tsp. of cornstarch; dissolve the cornstarch; add back to crock, and bring to a boil. Stir in salt, if desired.
2. Top with chipotle, sour cream or whatever you like.

Slow-Cooked Chile Con Carne: