Crock Pot Paleo Chili

   This is 100%, without a doubt, hands down the easiest crock pot recipe ever!!! Pinky swear! 
   In this Crock-Pot Chicken & Tomato Soup, I talked about how it maddens me to have to cook meat before adding it to the slow cooker for recipes. If I wanted to dirty a pan and to take the time to cook the meat, I would just do it and forget the crock pot all together and throw stuff into a pot on the stove an hour before meal-time! 
   So, this becomes the easiest recipe ever because I just put the super-frozen ground meat right into the crock pot and let 'er rip. I actually prefer the texture of the meat this way, really. It's a lot more tender, and I don't really like the taste of beef, so not cooking it before hand means I haven't cooked all that beefy flavour up.
   What else...? Oh, it saves a bit of fat too! I'm not a "low fat" gal AT ALL, but by not frying the meat up first I am just cutting out a bit of fat, so if you care about that sort of thing, then, hazaa! I more appreciate the fat saving for it's monetary value; one tablespoon of coconut or olive oil saved means I have it for something else! Ya see? 
   Alright, well, let's move onto chili. I used to make it all the time, but then I started eating paleo and not just gluten free, and beans on paleo are a no-no. I generally follow the paleo 'rules', but I also believe in eating what's right for you, so if paleo says "corn is a grain, you can't eat grain!", but it's summer in Ontario and there is fresh corn growing up all around me, I'm gonna have me some corn! The real key is being mindful of how your body reacts to foods, no matter what you eat. Beans are a real, simple, one ingredient-type food which means they are pretty good. However, having excessive gas/pain from eating them? Not so good! I just figured it was normal to feel that way after eating beans (beans the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot....remember?). But it turns out how I felt was too much; I never enjoyed the feeling afterwards, but I thought it was normal, so I went with it! So dumb. If you eat something that makes you bloat up and feel awful afterwards, no matter how "good" it is, stop eating eating it! That there is a life lesson from a food idiot. Me.
   So, with beans out of my life, I thought chili would just be a distant memory.....until I realized I can make chilli however the heck I want! So, that's what I did here! I used a basic tomato and meat sauce, added lots of veggies, some great seasonings, and wham-o! My chilli craving are satisfied! 
   You can customize this as you need/want to, and feel free to experiment with the flavour (more spicy, less spicy, adding a touch of maple syrup or something, etc.)  

Crock Pot Paleo Chili 

Ingredients:

• Two pounds of ground meat (I have used beef, pork, chicken, & venison; just mix and match)
  
• 1 Can tomato sauce (be sure it has no whacko oils or sugar in it if you're eating paleo). I really enjoy President's Choice Tomatoes First sauce.
  
• 1 can diced tomato (again, with nothing but tomatoes, well, and maybe salt)
• 4 cups Broth (any of your choosing)
• 4 Cups of veggies, this time around I used:

            Celery
            Peppers (orange and yellow)
            Onions
            Mushrooms
            Jalepeno (just one)
      I have also used carrots & turnip before

• 4 Cloves of garlic, crush and chopped
  
• 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder (gives it a great colour and a deep, earthy flavour)
  
• 3 Tbsp chili powder
  
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• Cayenne pepper, just a pinch (optional)
  
• Salt/pepper to taste
  

Method: 

1. If your meat is thawed out, place it into the bottom of your slow cooker and break it apart with a spoon. 
2. Dump all other ingredients on top of it, turn it to low and cook for 5-7 hours on low (it can cook longer too, fear not)

If your meat is frozen....

1. Stick the frozen meat into the slow cooker
2. Dump all other ingredients on top
3. Cook for 6-7 hours on high, then an additional hour or so at low.
4. Whenever you get a chance, use a large spoon to mix through the chilli and break up the meat. Once I only managed to do this after about 6 hours, and the chilli still tasted great

*With both recipes (frozen or thawed), you'll want to take the lid off the crock pot for the last part of the cooking (any amount of time is better than no time, but I generally have the lid off for an hour). This helps some of the liquid to cook off so that the chili is thicker*

   I hope everyone had a good Monday! Ours was a busy one, and it had some surprises in it, but it was good. 
    I'm feeling pooped now, and may make a nice cup-o' decaf coffee and watch some IT Crowd. Never seen it? It's a semi-stupid, semi-hilarious show that's on Netflix now. It's a clever show, but it's British, so would you expect anything else? Thought not. 
   
Cheerio! :)