#1,094: Paleo Slow Cooker Chili

This recipe was supposed to be super spicy, but since I don't like spice, I omitted a lot of it.  I made this last night so it cooked all night in the crockpot.  My kitchen smelled wonderful this morning when we woke up, so I ate it for breakfast.  It was really, really good.  This will be even better tomorrow when I eat it with avocado chunks. 

1 large onion (chopped)
1 green pepper (chopped)
8 oz sliced portobello mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
2-3 tbsp paprika (If you don’t want it really spicy, go ahead and use 3 tbsp and no cayenne pepper. If you do want spicy, use 2 tbsp of paprika and 1 tbsp cayenne pepper)
0-1 tbsp cayenne pepper (it’ll be spicy! so put less or even none if you don’t like spicy!)
1 jalapeno (optional, add only if you like it very spicy like me!)
1 lb ground beef or turkey
2 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 tbsp butter (I omitted)
Salt, pepper as desired

Place the diced tomatoes along with the tomato juice in to your slow cooker.  Stir in the paprika.

In a large skillet on medium heat, heat up 1 tbsp of butter, and then add the ground beef.  Cook until there’s only a little pink left, and make sure to break it down in to small chunks while doing so. Place in the slow cooker.

Next, add another tablespoon of butter to the sauté pan and sauté your veggies (onions, green pepper, jalapenos if using, mushrooms, garlic).  Cook until your onions are translucent.  Add this mixture in to your slow cooker and stir.  Add salt, pepper and the cayenne pepper (if using) now, and mix well.

Cover crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours, until chili is thickened.