Becky's Slow-Cooker Chili

As many of you know, I was trained as a chef and owned my own catering company for over 10 years. I still love to cook (even more now that it's not a job) and my wife is often asked how nice it is to be married to a chef (assuming she doesn't have to cook much).

The truth is she does most of our cooking at home if for no other reason than I'm not home to do it most of the time. And another truth is that I didn't marry her for her cooking. But she has learned some basic culinary principles and has improved a lot over the last twenty years. She may not become the next "Iron Chef" but she also won't every appear on a season of "Worst Cooks in America" either.

With that said, one of the best dishes she makes is her chili. Chili is not difficult to make, but it can be difficult to make a really good chili and usually takes a lot of work and a lot of time. This recipe is an exception (although it still takes time). It is a homemade chili in every sense of the word. The easy part of this chili is that if you can chop up a few vegetables, brown off hamburger and open some cans you too can have really good chili.

This is made in a 5 quart or larger slow cooker and must be started hours in advance, but once it is going you can just about walk away and forget it. This is great for a day when you know you will be busy taking kids all over after school or in my wife's case, when you have some energy in the morning but knowing that you won't by afternoon.

Becky's Easy Slow-Cooker Chili

1 lb Ground Beef (can substitute chicken, steak or what ever meat you want)

1 Onion, chopped

1 Medium Green Pepper, chopped

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

29 oz Tomato Sauce

3 - 16 oz cans Kidney Beans, drained (feel free to mix up different beans)

14 1/2 oz can crushed or stewed Tomatoes

6 oz can Tomato Paste

4 oz Grated Cheddar Cheese

Sour Cream and Green Onion for garnish

1. Brown meat in skillet. Add onion and green pepper halfway through browning process. Drain. Put into Slow Cooker.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese and garnish.

3 Cover. Cook on High 3 hours or Low for 7-8 hours.

4. Serve in bowls topped with cheddar cheese.

Enjoy.

Note: This is wonderful to serve with fresh, homemade cornbread.

Weekly Menu Themes

One of the presents I got my wife for Mother's Day this year was a cookbook. Becky is a good cook when she has to be, but her biggest problem is knowing what to fix. While shopping this year for her present, I came across the book, "Family Dinner Cookbook" by Debbie G Harman. The subtitle is what caught my attention. 'More than 400 Simple & Delicious Recipes for Every Day of the Week.' Becky has occasionally joked about adopting the cooking style of her Grandmother. Monday was meatloaf, Tuesday was Spaghetti, Wednesday was ... you get the idea.

I on the other hand love variety and spontaneity in my cooking. I will sometime got to the store for the ingredients to one dish and come home and prepare something completely different. And even if I have a recipe, I rarely make what was printed, putting my own twist on the idea. I thrive in chaos, Becky needs order. So when I read whole title, I was intrigued. After looking through the chapter titles and glancing at some of the variety in the recipes, I bought the book.

The concept of the book is that each day of the week is devoted to one theme making it easier to plan a meal around each of these themes. I especially liked the first chapter, "Let's Do Desserts", because I have always loved the idea that life is short, so eat dessert. In helping Becky plan her menus, I have adopted the concept (but with a few changes here and there). I'll probably vary from this (maybe even this week). But it's a start. Here are are themes.

Weekly Menu Themes

Monday: Pasta's and Rice

Tuesday: International Cooking

Wednesday: Casseroles

Thursday: Crockpot Meals

Friday: Soups & Salads

Saturday: Family Fun Foods

Sunday: Dinner around the Table