Suzy’s Slow Cooker Chili Recipe

The holidays are nearly upon us, and as you prepare your heart and home for family, I thought it might be a good time to share some resources that might help you, along with the practical help of sharing my favorite slow cooker chili recipe!

Resources For You

• Click HERE to read all of my best tips for staying well & healthy.
• Click HERE If your college or adult kids are back in the nest! I’ve got some tips for you on how to handle it. Plus I interviewed three “boomerang” kids about what they wished they could have told their parents about being home again.
• Click HERE for six ways to show love to your adult kids. (So important right now!)
• Click HERE for marriage tips. (The holidays mean a lot of togetherness!)
• Click HERE if you’re stress eating and you’re worried about weight gain.
• Click HERE if you’re having trouble sleeping for tips on what to do about it.
• Click HERE if you’re struggling with anxiety right now. I’m telling you how I handle mine.
• Click HERE to read my five tips for staying strong & healthy over fifty.
• Click HERE for several articles I’ve written about saving or making money in the empty nest.

And now, (drumroll, please!) chili!

I just love chili. There’s no better dish to eat when dinner calls for some serious comfort food! This recipe is perfect for one, two, or more if you’re empty nest has filled back up thanks to boomerang kids who are at home for a while.

The slow cooker is ideal for this recipe because you can put your meal together first thing in the morning, and then just sit back and listen to everyone say, “It smells good in here!” throughout the day.

Suzy’s Slow Cooker Chili

Ingredients
2-3 cans pinto or kidney beans (optional)
2 (14 ½ oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
1 can corn
2 lb. ground turkey or beef – browned and drained
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 Tblsp. chili powder
1 packet powdered Ranch dressing mix (Shhh…my secret ingredient!)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt

Instructions

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray.  Place all ingredients in the slow cooker in the order listed.  Stir once.  Cover and cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours. Feeds 6-8 people, but also freezes well if you just want a bunch of leftovers!

If you don’t have a slow cooker, I highly recommend one! I own two! I have a large 6 qt. slow cooker to feed my crowd when everyone is home for the holidays or friends are over. It’s programmable and has a removable crock to make clean up easy. It also has a built-in warm setting, so when my dish is done, it automatically keeps it toasty until we’re ready to eat. I also have a 3 qt. slow cooker that I use when it’s just the two of us or when I’ve got one of our kids home for a while. Of course, if you’re a fan of the instant pot, that will work just as well!

If you’re cooking for one or two, it’s great to have cookbooks that have all the recipes downsized perfectly for you! When our nest first emptied, I bought The Complete Slow Cooking for Two: A Perfectly Portioned Slow Cooker Cookbook, by Linda Larsen. It’s great, but the meals tend to be a bit heavy for us. My absolute favorite is called Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook for Two: 100 “Fix-and-Forget” Recipes for Ready-to-Eat Meals, by Pamela Ellgen.

Big hugs from Texas as you prepare your heart and home for your precious ones!