Yum! Tasty Tuesday!

It's Tasty Tuesday again! Yay:)! I thought maybe I'd post the recipe for the pork tacos I'm making in the crockpot today....but, I just made it up this morning, so if it's horrible and I lead others astray I would feel bad:(.

So instead, I'm going to post my FAVORITE crockpot chili recipe:)...

First, though, there's a story behind this....I used to work at Microsoft in Fargo, and (as a person who loves routines!), I got in the habit of going to the same place (Wendy's) for lunch every single day, ordering the same thing (a sour cream & chive potato w/ no chives, chili, and a diet coke), and then (after finishing my lunch) walking around Target for a bit to feel like I was a part of civilization. So strange I know, but I love Target and Wendy's, and I still appear to be pretty normal, so it couldn't have been too detrimental to my well-being;).

Anyways, I've been searching for a chili recipe that could come close to Wendy's chili...and I found a copycat recipe online that (with a few tweaks) turned out fabulously! here it is...

*Almost* Wendy's Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (or 1 bag frozen tomatoes)
• 4 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 (14 ounce) can southern ranch-style beans
• 1 (14 ounce) can pinto beans
• 1 (14 ounce) can kidney beans
• 1 (10 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package McCormick mild chili seasoning
• 2 lbs ground chuck
• Optional – 1 jalapeno, chopped
  

Directions:
1. Brown (and drain) Ground Chuck. Add all other ingredients, including juice of canned items, into large pot or crockpot.
2. Cook until onion and pepper are tender.
3. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.
4. Freezes nicely!

Verdict:

I threw the onion, green pepper, and jalapeno into the food processor and then tossed those in the crockpot. I then threw in the browned hamburger and my frozen tomatoes from the garden (in place of the stewed tomatoes) and the chili seasoning. Then I just dumped in the canned ingredients a little at a time until the crockpot was full. I was left with a tiny bit of rotel and some beans that didn't fit...Ironically, I ended up wanting it to cook faster, so I tossed it all in a stockpot:).

I also sliced up a long baguette and brushed each round with olive oil and garlic, then broiled for a bit and used those instead of crackers.

Hubby loved it, I LOVED it, and I was able to freeze four more portions for my lunches. If you want less of a kick, leave out the jalapeno - I happened to have a massive surplus from this year's garden harvest and I like a bit of heat:).

If my shredded pork taco recipe succeeds, I'll throw it on here...if it fails...well...I'll post it anyway so that I'll remember what not to do:).