Bean Free Crock Pot Chili

I am not great with the whole bean digestion thing. So I have been (pardon the pun) avoiding them for the past little while. But I really have missed having a nice warming bowl of hearty chili on a cold winters day. So, I threw together this bean-less version today. Sauteing the veggies first adds a ton of flavour, and IMHO should not be skipped.  I hope you like it!

Bean Free Crock Pot Chili

1 lg red onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 lg carrot, diced

1 medium zucchini, diced

2 tbsp coconut oil, divided

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1-2 tbsp chili powder from recipe below(to taste)*** 

1  tsp salt

1 28 oz can organic diced tomatoes

Sauté the veggies in batches in a large cast iron pan, using 1 tbsp coconut oil with each batch.

As soon as they start to brown and soften a wee bit, transfer to crock pot.

Sauté the ground beef until it just starts to brown.  (add an extra tbsp coconut oil if your beef is too lean) Add the chili powder and salt, cook for 2 minutes, and transfer with any pan juices to the crock pot.

Add the can of tomatoes with the juices, and give everything a good stir to combine well.  Cook on high for 4 hours(or low for 6-8 hrs) . Serve as desired, over rice, with organic corn chips or however you wish!!

***I was out of chili powder, which almost kyboshed this whole meal plan. But, the internet saved me with this make your own chili powder mix. I used paprika, and regular oregano, plus I added ¼ tsp of chipotle, plus 1 tbsp garlic powder from the optional ingredients. The recipe appears here: http://www.thekitchn.com/from-the-spice-cupboard-chili-126876