Most evenings about 5 o’clock you will find me in the kitchen normally by the oven or the stove making dinner. I love to cook my little family a fresh meal most evenings. On occasion I have been known to have the night off but it is very rare. For me, using a slow cooker is like having a meal off. All I do is put the ingredients into the pot and let it cook away.
We have a lot of favourite meals that we enjoy from the slow cooker. Chilli isn’t one of them! Therefore I’ve been trying to think of new ideas to help us enjoy a slow cooker chilli. I thought the cheese and pasta might entice my husband Howard and son Ted into eating this chilli. Sadly they weren’t impressed but I loved it. Plus I enjoyed it more as I felt like I hadn’t been stood in the kitchen for most of the evening. I’m sure you will enjoy this meal as well.
Do you have fussy eaters to feed and how do you deal with it? Let me know in the comments below and please feel free to like and follow me.
Equipment needed
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Grater
- Vegetable peeler
- Slow cooker
- Or large saucepan
- and wooden spoon
- and plastic brush
- Teaspoon
- Tablespoon
- Baking tray
- Grease proof paper
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- Onions x 2
- Courgette x 1 large
- Carrot x 1 large
- Butternut squash x 1/2 medium
- Garlic x 2 cloves
- Spinach x 1 200g bag
- Tomatoes x 1 400g tin
- Vegetable stock x 500 ml
- Dried pinto beans x 1 100g
- Dried cannellini beans x 1 100g
- Mild or hot chilli powder x 1 tsp
- Ground ginger x 1 tsp
- Ground coriander x 1 tsp
- Ground cumin x 1 tsp
- Ground cinnamon x 1/2 tsp
- Ground oregano x 1 tsp
- Bay leaves x 2
- Tomato puree x 1 tbsp
- Salt and pepper
- Cashew nut cream cheese or cream cheese x 200g
- Nutritional yeast or hard cheese grated x 4 tbsps.
- Pasta x 300g
Method for slow cooker
- Weigh and measure the beans.
- Soak them overnight in cold water in the fridge.
- When you want to cook the beans drain them through the colander and rinse.
- Put them into a large saucepan and add enough water to cover them and about 2 inches more.
- Add baking powder to the water and salt.
- Next turn the hob onto high and bring to the boil.
- Once boiling turn the heat down and reduce to a simmer.
- Leave on the hob until the beans are soft.
- Depending on how old they are will depend on how long they take to soften.
- The baking powder will help to soften them a bit faster.
- When I cook black beans they do normally take around thirty to forty minutes to soften.
- If you haven’t got the time then you can always use tinned instead.
- Put the beans into the slow cooker pot.
- Peel and slice the onions and garlic and put into the slow cooker.
- Grate the courgette and the carrots and put these into the slow cooker.
- Next peel half the butternut squash and cut into 1 cm pieces and put this in as well.
- Add in the tinned tomatoes.
- Sprinkle in all the herbs and spices and the tomato puree.
- Then put the bay leaves in and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Finally stir all the ingredients together and put on a low heat for eight hours or a high heat for four hours.
- 30 minutes before serving, add in the spinach and stir until it has wilted into the chilli.
- Then add in the cashew nut cream cheese or cream cheese and nutritional yeast or hard cheese.
- Boil the pasta as per the packet instructions and add this into the slow cooker pot.
- Stir all these ingredients together and then serve and enjoy.
Slow Cooker Chilli Mac and Cheese is a very easy dish to prepare and cook. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I ate the leftovers the next day too. The meal could be made for vegan or vegetarian depending on the type of cheese you use. The sauce made in the slow cooker could be made and frozen for another occasion. All the ingredients are freezable so a double batch could be made as well. However you decide to eat this dish as always, please enjoy. Thank you xxx
Googies Kitchen Life 