Slow Cooked to Perfection

What to have for dinner on a cold day when you feel like poop? Something made in the slow cooker, obviously. This week an old health issue reared its ugly head. I've had trouble with swollen glands on occasion ever since I had mono in my early 20s, and this week the gland monster showed up to ruin my week. It's just one gland, but it is painful, tender and makes it really difficult to move my head. Luckily, I recently bought the most awesome of slow cookers, with a fancy timer to prevent overlooking.

I had some leftover sweet potatoes, squash and onions lying around, so I chopped them up and threw them in the crockpot for a few hours with some tomatoes and spices. I was fresh out of beans, or I would have thrown some of those in as well. This chili was yummy, comforting, and had a slightly smoky spice thanks to the chipotle chilis I added at the last minute.

I've had this for dinner two nights in a row now, and plan on eating it for lunch tomorrow too. I actually got way too excited about eating it tonight and almost forgot to take a photo, hence the half-eaten bowl and PB sandwich!

Veggie Chili

1 onion, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 winter squash (I used buttercup), peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 15oz can chopped tomatoes
4 cups water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 package taco seasoning
2 chipotle chilies in adobo, chopped

Combine ingredients in a slow cooker and mix well. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with wheat berries, brown rice or a plain old PB sammich!

Experimenting with Leftovers

So yesterday was Thanksgiving. Yay! While I didn't grow up with this holiday, I have come to enjoy it since living Stateside. The best part of Thanksgiving, hands down, is the double whammy of homemade stuffing and pumpkin pie. Well this year, Ben's family did not deliver on the pumpkin pie (although they did deliver on the awesome apple pie), but I wasn't about to let that happen to the stuffing. Since it's the absolute best part of the meal, I make it my duty to bring it every year, without fail.

This year I'm not eating meat, so turkey and ham were out for me. But the sides more than made up for it. I made stuffing with celery, onions, carrots, apples and fresh cranberries, plus some veggie sausage. It was delicious, if I do say so myself (and I do!), and I was excited that there were leftovers for me to bring home.

Usually I'll eat leftover stuffing cold straight from the Tupperware, but this year I decided to attempt a meat-free loaf. I made up the recipe myself, which didn't quite turn out as I expected.

Veggie loaf fail!

It was way too moist, so although it was delicious, it wasn't pretty and didn't hold its shape. So, no recipe this time, but I WILL succeed in making a great vegetarian loaf that sticks together without being too mushy!

Bisto makes everything OK

Even though the loaf was weird looking, it was delicious with roasted acorn squash and carrots, and of course, onion gravy made with Bisto gravy granules! How this stuff has not made it to the U.S. I'll never know.