Slow Cooker Chili | Slow Cooker Ground Beef Recipe

This easy slow cooker chili requires only a little preparation time, tastes great – and tastes even better the next day. 

This is one of very few recipes where, if time permits, I do the extra preparation step of browning the ground beef.  Which is why I am featuring the West Bend Oblong Slow Cooker with Tote today - you can accomplish that extra step without creating an extra pan to clean up!  The non-stick coating on the inside of the stainless steel insert of this slow cooker enables it to be used (separated off it's base) directly on your stove top to brown the meat and vegetables.  Plus, the base is actually a mini griddle - handy for Sunday morning breakfast - so it is heat resistant too.  You just pop the insert back on top of the base and set your heat preference and it's good to go.  Very clever, versatile slow cooker! If you would like to read my West Bend Slow Cooker Review article, follow the link.

Slow Cooker Chili

Serves 6

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours.

1lb lean ground beef

salt and pepper to taste

3 x 15 oz cans red kidney beans

3 x 14 oz cans Mexican style stewed tomatoes

2 stalks of celery chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

¼ C red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried basil

a dash Worcestershire sauce

½ c red wine (add this in the last 2 hours of cooking)

In a skillet over a med-hi heat, brown beef. Drain off grease, season to taste.

In the slow cooker combine the beef and the remaining ingredients, cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours.

Previous Post: Crock Pot Desserts | Peach Crumble
(Come on, join in the fun, share your favorite slow cooker recipe here...)

Crock Pot Desserts | Peach Crumble

Our family are big Peach Crumble fans!  Apple or Peach Crumble is an often requested dessert for a special meal.  If your family are Peach Cobbler fans, and you are looking for a change - or you just can't face turning the oven on in summer, try this - maybe you can start a new family tradition with your family. 

In the summer I make this (as you would Peach Cobbler) with fresh peaches, the rest of the year I use good quality peaches that have been canned in natural juice.  I love cooking in the slow cooker in the summer - anything to avoid turning the oven on - the slow cooker cooks your food, not you and the house.  It's a real blessing in the hotter months too.

Once the Peach Crumble is ready to serve, line up the plates, spoons and the vanilla icecream and get ready for the compliments!  Enjoy!

Peach Crumble

serves 4-5

cooks on high for 2 hours, then leave it to rest 1 hour before serving

2x14oz/800g canned peaches, drained

½ Cup self raising flour

½ Cup brown sugar

½ Cup rolled oats

¼ Cup chopped walnuts - optional

¼ Cup coconut - optional

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp mixed spice

2oz/50g cold butter

To prevent the crumble edges getting burned, line the sides of the slow cooker with a double layer of baking paper.

Add the drained fruit to the base.

Make a crumble with the topping ingredients and sprinkle mixture evenly over.

Cover and cook for 2 hours, then remove the lid, turn off and remove the paper liner. Leave it uncovered to cool so it is warm, not hot when served.

Previous Post: Chickpea Curry | Slow Cooker Curry | How To Cook Chickpeas 

Chickpea Curry | Slow Cooker Curry | How To Cook Chickpeas

I love this Chickpea Curry recipe!  We enjoy this for dinner at least once a week, every week, all year round, it's delicious flavors are very 'more-ish'!  This dish is enjoyed by meat eaters just as much as by vegetarians!

I use my Intermatic DT620CL 15 Amp Indoor Astronomic Digital Timer to cook the chickpeas overnight in my manual slow cooker and then I cook the Chickpea Curry for dinner and freeze the extra servings for easy to make dinners.

Once you have the spices and if you cook your own dried chickpeas (rather than using canned chickpeas) this is a very budget friendly dish.  Canned chickpeas are a great standby for when you are in a hurry, but they do cost more.  You'll get approximately 6 cans worth of chickpeas from a 1lb/500g bag.  So When I make this recipe I cook the whole bag and freeze what I don't need for this recipe, or make Roast Pumpkin Hummus with it!

How To Cook Chickpeas

1lb/500g dried garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed, add to slow cooker
7 cups of hot tap water
Cook on high for 4 hours.
This will give you approximately 6 cups of cooked chickpeas.
Rinse with fresh water, use straight away, refrigerate or cool and then freeze any extra to your requirements over the next 2-3 days.

Chickpea Curry

Serves 4-8 (depending on size of appetite!)

Chickpea Curry

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hour, or on high for 4 hours

4 cups cooked chickpeas (or 4 cans, drained, rinsed)
1 cup of the chickpea cooking liquid (or water)
1-1/2 lb/800g golden or orange sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 large brown onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed, chopped
1 Tbsp grated root ginger (2 tsp ground ginger)
2 bay leaves (discard before serving)
2 tsp hot curry powder
2 tsp ground cumin
14oz/400g canned crushed tomatoes in juice
1 dessertspoon peanut butter (optional)
2 tsp garam masala (added before serving - don't be tempted to omit)
1/2lb/200g baby spinach leaves, chopped

Add all the ingredients except the last three, into the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hour, or on high for 4 hours or until the sweet potato is cooked.  Before serving, add the last three ingredients, taste and add salt if desired, stir to combine and leave for a further few minutes to allow spinach to soften.   Serve over a layer of creamy mashed potatoes, white or brown rice.  Depending on the season, or to stretch the meal to further increase the number of servings, just add fresh steamed greens and or a salad in a side dish and or a grainy brown bread roll.  As I said, I serve this often, so I do tend to vary the way I serve it, to ensure it continues to be gobbled up with glee!  Enjoy!

Previous Post: Slow Cooker Chicken | Super Simple Chicken Adobo

Slow Cooker Chicken | Super Simple Chicken Adobo

Adobo is Spanish for marinade or sauce.  Chicken Adobo or marinade is a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, bay leaf and crushed garlic and peppercorns. 

It's a dish that is incredibly delicious for the amount of effort required and best served simply with on plain rice, with the meat and juices spooned over it.

For a recipe like this, a 3½ quart slow cooker is the perfect size! And a slow cooker like the Cuisinart PSC-350 3-1/2-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker that has an automatic 'swtich to warm' function would be even better.



This is one of my favorite slow cookers because it's a great slow cooker AND it's so good looking - which is important to me, I use mine every day.  So it is sitting on my counter a lot, so I appreciate it's model good looks! :)

Slow Cooker Chicken - Super Simple Chicken Adobo

Serves 4
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours

3 lb chicken pieces – any cut of chicken
2 bay leaves (remember to discard before serving)
1 small onion sliced
9 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
¾ C soy sauce
½ C apple cider vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Place chicken and bay leaves in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix the remaining ingredients, pour over the chicken, cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

 Previous Post: Easy Cranberry Pork Chops | Slow Cooker Pork Recipes

Easy Cranberry Pork Chops | Slow Cooker Pork Recipes

There are two things to take into consideration with this simple yet tasty recipe - how many are you feeding and how big is your slow cooker. If you are only feeding 4 you only need 4 chops.  If you are feeding 6 and you have a small slow cooker, think about the size of the chops, you need to get chops that will fit in maximum two layers in your slow cooker.

This is another of those wonderful recipes that you can prepare the night before in a crock pot liner bag, put in the fridge over night and then just pop the crock pot liner bag in the slow cooker and turn it on, while you're doing breakfasts, making lunches and all that other crazy stuff in the morning!  These slow cooker liners make both meal prep and clean up a breeze!  Once you've tried them, you'll not be without them.

I used the canned jellied kind of cranberry sauce, and I prefer wholegrain mustard, but you can use whatever kind of prepared mustard you have.  This recipe is perfect teamed with mashed potato and a fresh seasonal green salad.  This is sure to be a family favorite.  Enjoy!

Easy Cranberry Pork Chops

Serves 4 or 6
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours

4 or 6 pork chops
1 (16 ounce) canned cranberry sauce
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water


Combine cranberry sauce, juice, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and mustard until smooth; pour over chops. (Prepare to this stage when using a crock pot liner bag)
Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or until meat is tender.
Remove chops and keep warm.
In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; and then gradually stir in cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Season to taste. Serve over chops.

Previous Post: Lamb Slow Cooker Recipe | Honey Soy Lamb Chops

Lamb Slow Cooker Recipe | Honey Soy Lamb Chops

Honey Soy Lamb Chops - Lamb Slow Cooker Recipe

This is not a casserole recipe!

It's not a casserole recipe, although it can be if you want it make it that way!
So many people say their family won't eat it unless it's just meat and gravy – here's a great recipe for such a family.
Once the meat is cooked, take it out of the slow cooker and keep it warm.
Strain the remaining sauce to remove the herbs and onions and thicken it the consistency your family prefers, season to taste and serve!

Serves 6

Cook on low for 6 hours

¼ Cup soy sauce

¼ Cup honey

3 cloves of crushed garlic

1 tsp sesame oil

2 large red onions, cut into thick wedges

6 lamb forequarter chops

6 sprigs fresh rosemary

½ oz melted butter

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Combine soy sauce, honey, garlic and sesame oil in a small jug.

Add the onions, then the lamb and rosemary to the slow cooker.

Pour over the sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, melt the butter and add the cornstarch.

Remove the slow cooker lid and discard rosemary and stir in the butter cornstarch mixture.

Cover, turn slow cooker to high to thicken the sauce, which will take about 20-25 minutes.

Season to taste and serve with creamy mashed potatoes or roast vegetables and other cooked or fresh seasonal vegetables.

Previous post: Do you like Chickpea or Garbanzo Bean Salad. Follow this link for more garbanzo bean recipes!  More great, tasty, easy slow cooker recipes and slow cooker reviews are on my website - enjoy!

Crock Pot Rump Roast - Shredded Beef Rump Roast

This recipe will feed a group or give you enough to eat at one meal and freeze several more to use later.

This is another one of those budget stretching, easy slow cooker meals that tastes even better the next time, so you will be pleased it makes so much.

Serve the delicious shredded beef on sub rolls or with tacos, tortillas, lettuce, tomato, guacamole and all your favorite Mexican food toppings.

Freeze what you won't use straight away, in convenient sized portions, so you can just pull it out of the freezer and you have a quick meal in no time.  

Serves 12-16

Cook on low for 5 hours (or on low for 9 hours if meat is frozen)

Shredded Roast Beef on Tacos or Subs

4lb rump roast

1 Cup white wine

14oz Mexican style canned tomato hot sauce

6 cloves of garlic, crushed (or 3 Tbsp from a jar)

fresh ground pepper

To finish, add a cup of chopped fresh cilantro and a thinly sliced bunch of green onions (or a red onion if green are unavailable)

Place the roast in the slow cooker and pour over the wine and tomato sauce. Sprinkle the garlic over and season with freshly ground pepper to taste.

Cover and cook on low for 5 hours (9 hours if roast is frozen). Once cooking time is completed the roast shreds easily with two forks. Shred the roast in the slow cooker, in the juices. Once the meat is shredded, add the fresh cilantro and onions, stir to combine and serve as suggested above.

From a previous post: How To Make Hummus

More great, tasty, easy slow cooker recipes and slow cooker reviews are on my website - enjoy!