Today is a cold, snowy sort of day that just calls out for a bowl
of spicy chili to enjoy in the cozy comfort of home. So, that’s what
we had.
Last night I rinsed two pounds of dried pinto beans and placed them
in our 6 ½ quart slow cooker set at “low.” In a high speed blender
(Vita-Mix) I blended a small chipotle pepper (dried smoked jalapeno) in
two cups of water and poured it into the slow cooker. I rinsed out the
blender container with the rest of the water, for a total of 12 cups,
and added it to the pinto beans in the cooker. I did not preheat the
water.
I left the covered cooker on at “low” heat until morning. Then I
heated 28 ounces of canned crushed tomatoes in the microwave oven and
added them to the cooked beans in the slow cooker, along with two diced
onions also cooked in the microwave oven before adding to the cooker.
The rest of the ingredients added were: ¼ cup unsulphured molasses; 2
tablespoons each of chili powder, cumin, and paprika; 1 teaspoon
cinnamon; and 2 pounds of sweet potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces. I
did not pre-cook the sweet potatoes. I stirred all the ingredients
together and let them cook in the covered slow cooker for about three
hours, before turning it off.
We enjoyed this spicy, pinto bean chili with a large tossed salad.
For a variety of great-tasting recipes, photos, and information
visit:
http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes.html
