Don’t Take the Calendar’s Word For It…

… you know it’s REALLY fall when Chili breaks out the crock pot.

You want stupid-easy?  I’ve got your stupid-easy right here.

Bust out that crock pot.  Don’t have one?  Go to your local mega-mart, hardware store, or kitchen shop and drop the 25 bucks it takes to own one (or go to a GoodWill or a church thrift shop and get one for $5).  TRUST me on this; you won’t be sorry.

Into that pot, drop two onions, chopped or thinly sliced, whichever is your preference.  On top of that, drop a hunk of beef that has been trimmed of most of its visible fat (“but Chili; what CUT of beef?” you’re asking.  Really?  It doesn’t matter.  Anything that’s generally cooked long and slow – pot roasts, chucks, rounds, briskets – are all good).  You can brown that meat if you like, but I really don’t think that’s necessary.  On top of that, pour a couple of cups of beef broth or stock (canned is fine, but if you’ve got homemade stuff in the freezer, so much the better.  I boost my store-bought broth by adding a spoonful of this stuff, and it helps a lot).  Depending on your family’s likes, you can drop in a couple cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, or a couple of shakes of your favorite seasonings (chili powder, basil, rosemary – whatever).  Clap on the lid, set the sucker to low, and leave it for a day.

No, seriously.  I put this together last night with a chunk of frozen roast.  It’s been cooking for about 20 hours by now.

When you’re just about ready to eat, check the soup for taste (I always need to add salt) and take a couple of forks and shred the beef.  Drop in a couple handfuls of whichever veggies your family will eat (I go with traditional peas and carrots) and when they’re heated through, you’re ready to eat!

You can serve this any number of ways.  I’ve dished it out over mashed potatoes and over polenta.  I can bet that a pile of rice would serve as a nice addition (you could even add rice to the cooking process, though you may need to adjust your liquid up a bit.  You could also cook chunks of potato with the soup).  Tonight, I’m serving it with sides of saltine crackers with cheddar cheese melted over.

YUM!