Slow Cooker Chili

Holy cow...I just realized I haven't created a blog post since May 11th...SHAME ON ME!! While there is no excuse for not blogging for 8 months, it's not like I have been sitting around on my butt doing nothing. So, lets see what has been happening?? Probably the biggest deterrent for maintaining my blog is just being a father. I have literally never done anything as rewarding as being a dad and it has just been so much fun watching my little boy grow up...he just turned 1 year old on the 6th and I still just can't get over that.

Lets see, what else has come up...ohh yeah...I got a new job in August! I am now a Territory Manager for the second largest, and best, broadline food distributor in the country, US Foods. It definitely felt time to make a change and the opportunity presented itself, so I jumped at it and absolutely love my decision. Given my love for food, cooking, and the restaurant industry....it just fits my personality so well. 

Not too much else has come up, except for 2016 ended up being a great sports year, and great year in general for me. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup, Penn State Football beat Ohio State and won the Big 10 Championship (Which I attended and it might have been the greatest sporting event that I have attended). One thing that hasn't changed is that I am still cooking like crazy and the good news is I probably have 8 months worth of blogging material ready to share! So without further ado, lets talk about this Slow Cooker Chili recipe. There isn't anything crazy about this recipe, but it is a goodie and is perfect for this time of year. One thing that I did discover is, like pasta, cooking the veggies, beef, and spices all together in a pan and then letting them meld over night before throwing it all in the crockpot really intensifies the flavors. So, if you have time, I recommend doing that to really elevate this recipe. Good luck and let me know what you think!

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Slow Cooker Chili

Prep time: 45m | Cook time: 6-8hrs | Total time: 45min | Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium yellow onions, medium dice
1 medium red bell pepper, medium dice
6 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 lbs lean ground beef
1.5 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pickled jalapenos or green chilies, drained
2 Tbsp cornmeal

Cooking Directions

1. In a large sauce pan heated over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil. Cook the ground beef until browned. Add in the diced onions and red pepper, cooking until softened. Then add in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and salt; cooking until fragerant. Optional: Let the spiced meat and veggie mixture cool, then store in a container and refrigerate overnight.
2. Add the spiced meat mixture, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and kidney beans to a crock pot. Cook for 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
3. Stir in the pickled jalapenos, cornmeal, and season with salt as need. Serve with cheese, thinly sliced scalions, and sour cream.

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Wilmas Old Settler Beans

Settler Beans, Calico Beans, Cowboy Beans, Hobo Beans, Bean Beans the magical fruit the more you eat the more you....You get the idea...As much as I want to take credit for this recipe, I can't, it is one that my Mother gave to me that I imagine she acquired over the years. Who's Wilma? no idea...but boy can she make a mean batch of beans!

Now if you are looking for a healthy side dish, please just hit the back arrow in the top left corner (if you are using Chrome) because you have definitely made a wrong turn. This is one of the comfort foods that you make a huge batch of for a family get together, then everybody raves about them afterwards and ask for the recipe. My idea of the perfect venue for these beans is 4th of July, Memorial Day, or Tailgates. 

Of course I wasn't doing any of those things, we had a baptism! Which is pretty much on the complete opposite side of the party spectrum for those events. But, hey, it was a family get together, the weather was beautiful, and we had a great little barbecue with family to celebrate the occasion. It's also worth noting that this recipe is EXTREMELY simple, makes a ton, and is just perfect for a party!

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Wilmas Old Settler Beans

Prep time: 30m | Cook time: 3hrs+ | Total time: 3.5hrs+ | Yield: 8-12 servings

Ingredients

1 lbs ground beef
1 lbs chopped bacon
2 small onion, diced
2 cans dark kidney beans, drained
2 cans pork and beans
2 cans butter beans, drained
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup molasses

Cooking Directions

1. Add the diced bacon to a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon, reserve bacon fat for another use. In the same pan, brown the ground beef and diced onion.
2. Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for at least 3 hours, stirring on oaccasion. Serve immediately or keep on warm.

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Slow Cooker Pulled Pork 2.0

Well it's been three months since my last post. What can I say, life as got the best of me once again. But, this time life has got the best of me for an absolutely wonderful thing. As most of you know, my wife and I had our first son. Ironically my last post, January 5th was the day before our son was born! 

So here he is food blog world, Adam Thomas Pepple, born January 6th, 2016 at 11:05 PM, 8 lbs 10.6 oz., 22 inches. Everybody tells you how much you are going to love your child, everybody tells you how much having a child is going to change your life. I totally believed everything I have ever been told about having a child. But, I could have never been told or predicted the sheer gravity of all of those statements. How MUCH love and change has occurred in the past three months is absolutely indescribable. Even when I tell people how much I love this child, I can't even find the words to express it.

At this point he is doing such a great job. He is 15.5 lbs, he's sitting up pretty good, he's smiling a WHOLE bunch, talking a WHOLE bunch, and sometimes we'll get a little giggle out of him as well. I can already tell he's going to be one of those boys that likes to run around butt naked. Because he can be screaming up a storm, but as soon as the diaper comes off he's the happiest baby ever. Another thing he is doing well is he sleeps like an absolute champ. For the past month now he's been pretty much been sleeping all through the night. 

One thing that is absolutely true is that these babies grow up WAY too fast. Time is just absolutely flying right now and the thing about it is, everyday is so exciting to see what else he figures out. But, at the same time, you see this little person changing and growing so quickly...it's sad that these infancy moments are just a blip in the grand scheme of things. Mom and I have definitely been taking every possible moment we can to snuggle him and enjoy these moments as much as we can; we are truly blessed. 

It's still hard to believe, looking at this little guy, knowing where he came from and reading everyday for 9 months about the process that is involved. Knowing that he started out the size of a poppy seed...it's hard to believe that this guy is going to grow up, even more, and do stuff like go to school, graduate from college, be a contributing member of society, get married, have his own children. It's just crazy to look into his eyes and think about all these things, what is he going to do? What is he going to like? Is he going to be outgoing (like me) or more reserved (like my wife). It's exciting, scary, sad, happy, nervous...it's basically every emotion you can possibly think of all at the same time. I love this baby to death and tell him as often as I can. 

Now, food...Yes I have been quiet on the blog, but I have not been quiet in the kitchen. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know that I am still making a ton of food (If you don't follow me on Instgram, you should). So to kick things off and get back into the swing of blogging on a regular basis, I am going to start with this delicious Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwich w/ a South Carolina style mustard barbecue sauce. Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments below!

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Slow Cooker Pulled Pork 2.0

Prep time: 30m | Cook time: 6-10hrs | Total time: 6.5-10.5hrs | Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups dark brown sugar
5 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp cayenne
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp ground allspice
2 Tbsp chili flakes
3 Tbsp ancho chili powder
1 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
ground black pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Place the onions and garlic in an even layer in the slow cooker and pour in the stock. Combine the brown sugar, salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, allspice, chili flakes, and ancho chili powder. Pat the pork dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork and place the meat on top of the onions and garlic. Cover and cook until the pork is fork tender, about 6 to 8 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the mustard, honey, light brown sugar, and white vinegar. Season with black pepper. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Turn off the slow cooker and remove the pork to a cutting board. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the onion mixture from the slow cooker through the strainer and return the solids to the slow cooker. Set the strained liquid aside.
4. If the pork has a bone, remove and discard it. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker, use a spoon to skim and discard the fat from the surface of the strained cooking liquid, and then add 1/4 cup of the liquid at a time to the slow cooker until the pork is just moistened. Taste and season with salt as needed.
5. Put the pulled pork on a bun of your choice (or no bun) and drizzle the caroline sauce on top. Enjoy!

Pulled pork should be cooked to an internal temp of 190-195F. For the most accurate readings, get yourself a Thermapen! I use mine pretty much everyday!

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