Yes, Fall is nice and all, especially the fall recipes. But I dread the end of Summer. It feels like it takes forever to get here so I like to hold onto it. And I’m pretty sure I’m headed to basic bitch hell for this, but I don’t like Pumpkin Spice. I said what I said.
Maybe it’s because someone needs to pump the breaks on all the pumpkin spice madness in August. Believe me I like Fall, I do. I like the beautiful foliage, the really pretty fall colors.
And at the END of September, I’m ready for it. I’ll take the pumpkin décor, and all the Fall things. I like a nice 70 degree fall day with the sun still shining and the weather is still nice enough to wear just a sweater.
What I also really love about Fall, is all the cooking. I love the colorful fall veggies and the smell of delicious fall recipes cooking for hours on the stove. The aroma just makes the whole house smell warm and cozy. Obviously, we don’t always have hours for cooking and especially don’t have that time during the week. When I want a nice hearty meal but just don’t have the time, that’s when I turn to the crock pot because it’s just that easy. Anyone can use it and you basically don’t even have to know how to cook.
Sometimes I have a plan in mind and sometimes I just wing it while I’m at the store. This week I literally walked thru the supermarket and picked these items at random off the shelf. I decided I kind of wanted a Mexican flair, so I went down the international aisle and just started grabbing ingredients. I used a can of black beans, a can of Rotel tomatoes which I actually never used before and a jar of Goya’s Salsa Verde which I also never used before. The only fresh ingredients I used beside the chicken thighs was a yellow pepper and some fresh chopped cilantro.
It literally took all of 5 minutes to put the items in the pot, then you literally set it and forget it. I don’t even take the pre-step of browning anything, personally I don’t think it’s necessary especially in a time crunch. I’ve used very intricate recipes with many ingredients to super simple recipes with minimal ingredients and they all come out delicious.
I threw all the ingredients in and set the crock on low for 7 hours. Once done I shredded the chicken and put it back in the crock pot for an additional half hour. If you really wanted to, you could add some chicken broth, add some avocado and tortilla strips and turn this into a tortilla soup.
This was so warming and satisfying with a mild kick from the Rotel. I served this chili over rice, and it was a hit. My Son and Mom loved it. Bring it on Fall!
