Chipotle Two Bean Chili

Months ago I was inspired to buy a small slow cooker while shopping for a bridal registry. My mind was filled with all the wonderful things I could create with it. The luxury of just throwing all my ingredients in, turning that puppy on low, and let it simmer while I did who knows what.


Image taken from keraladelight.com

By "months ago," I mean about a year and a half ago. All those "wonderful things" turned out to be one brisket. That is until a few nights ago. Being in school and completing a full-time internship leaves little time to be in the kitchen. What better time than now to break that bad boy out?

For this demonstration in slow cooking cookery I made chili. Instead of going to the internet for a recipe or buying a prepackaged chili seasoning mix I decided to wing it, which was a first in chili preparation for me. The night before I threw my ingredients into the stoneware piece and then put it in the fridge overnight.

When I got up the next morning I added water, put the stoneware in the heating base, and turned it to low. Later that day I was talking with a co-worker about my experiment. Long story short, he was pretty convinced that my creation was scorched to the bottom of stoneware and my apartment was going to be smokier than a sweat lodge. That is, if I still had an apartment. Knowing my cooking skills and uncanny ability to have something catch fire, or at the very least set off a smoke detector, I high-tailed it home.

There were no fire trucks, that was a good sign. My neighbors were no where to be seen, which was normal, so that made it a plus. Upon entering my apartment I was greeted by the aroma of chili pepper spices. Very good sign. In the slow cooker my chili was brimming with water, which was merrily bubbling up the sides. Nothing was dried out nor smoking nor scorched. The cooking of the chili was deemed a success.

Then it came time to try the chili and it was by no means is a wimpy chili. I had exercised selective memory to spice when I added the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, which meant sour cream and a glass of milk went a long way. For a tamer chili, I suggest cutting the adobo sauce with tomato paste or completely substituting the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce with tomato paste.

Chipotle Two Bean Chili
*This recipe is meant for a 1.5 quart slow cooker. Adjust ingredients as necessary.

What You Need:

4 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 Medium Raw White Onion, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 Medium Celery Stalk, chopped
1 Can of Mushrooms, Pieces and Stems
1.5 c. of Canned Black Beans
1.5 c. of Canned Dark Red Kidney Beans
1 c. Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
1 T. Chipotle Seasoning
1/2 T. Smoked Paprika
1/2 c. Water


What To Do:
Spray the inside of the stoneware dish with cooking spray. Drain the mushrooms. Drain and rinse the black and kidney beans. Layer all the ingredients in the dish except for the water. Before putting the stoneware dish in the heating element, add the water. Set the heating element to low and cook for 5 hours. Try to stir it at least once while cooking. The chili can stay on longer than 5 hours if need be.

Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 cup
Calories: 162 calories
Fat: 1.6 grams
Carbohydrates: 32.4 grams
Protein: 8.2 grams