With businesses opening back up, schools being back in session, and harvest season starting, busy is about to be the name of the game again. When life gets crazy, keep dinner easy and tasty with this Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili!

Well, friends, harvest season in Northeastern Indiana has officially begun. JW is spending long hours working in the fields and in the semi, while I’m holding down the fort at home as well as I can. Oh, and in case you missed it, VandeLittle the Second decided to enter the world a few weeks before we were expecting him. So in other words…life just got all kinds of cray cray.

Photo Credit to Mallarie Ranae Photography

Spring planting and fall harvest are generally the busiest time of year on the farm. There is a window of time that farmers have to get crops planted and harvested. Though modern technology allows us to cover much more ground in much less time, planters and combines can still only cover so many acres in a day. The push to get all of those acres taken care of means that meals with the family around the table just aren’t on the agenda, so a lot of meals end up being eaten in the field.

Even during a normal year (you know, a year when we aren’t throwing a new baby into the mix), freezer meals, slow cookers, and my Instant Pot are my best friends when harvest rolls around. Freezer meals and the Instant Pot are great because I don’t always get a lot of notice when JW needs me to bring food. He works for an amazing family that feeds the entire crew a few nights a week, but there are always some meals that he’s on his own for. On those days I need something that is basically already ready to go or has a short cook time. The slow cooker is my BFF on those days when I know ahead of time what’s happening, but also know that I’m going to want something to be ready without much fuss when dinner time rolls around.

This Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili is the perfect meal for when life decides to go off the rails. It can be made in the crock pot, on the stove, in the Instant Pot, and even freezes really well. In fact, I almost always freeze the leftovers any time I make a batch. Then all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer, put it in the crock pot for a few hours, and dinner is ready when we are ready for it!

If you’re making this Taco Chili in the slow cooker, you’ll want to brown your hamburger first. I also like to go ahead and put my onions and cumin in with the hamburger while it’s browning. Then all that’s left to do is dump all of the ingredients in your crock pot, and cook it all on low for 5 hours or high for 3. Serve with your favorite chili fixings. I love Fritos or tortilla chips, lots of shredded cheese, sour cream, and a little diced onion.

Another great idea would be to use your Instant Pot so you’re not getting an extra pan dirty. Just turn it on saute mode for your hamburger and onions, then add everything else and turn on slow cooker mode. If you prefer to make this recipe on the stove top, start off by browning your hamburger with the onions in a large skillet. Drain any fat, then add everything else. Simmer on medium to medium high for at least 20 minutes to give all of the flavors time to combine.

Cooking this one from frozen? No need to defrost any more than to be able to get in in your crock pot! Put it in frozen, and increase cook time by about 1-2 hours.

This recipe is sponsored by the Glass Barn, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili

When life gets crazy, keep dinner easy and tasty with this Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili!

Course Main, Soup

Cuisine American, Mexican

Keyword bean free, easy dinner, freezer food, Instant Pot, slow cooker

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 hours hours

Servings 6 people

Author Meagan - The Crossroads Cook

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1 Medium Onion, Diced
• 1 Can Corn, Drained
• 1 Can Diced Green Chilies or Jalapenos
• 2 14 oz Cans Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Can Tomato Sauce
• 3 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Fritos Corn Chips, Diced Onion for Serving

Instructions

• In a large skillet, brown the ground beef along with the diced onion.
• Combined the browned beef and onion with the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2 hours.

Notes

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The post Slow Cooker No Bean Taco Chili appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

Whether you have a baby on the way, a friend in need, or you know life is going to get busy and you want to be prepared with easy dinners, freezer meals can be a real life saver! I’ve asked a few of my blogger friends to help me come up with this list of Our Favorite Freezer Meals!

The countdown is on, friends! We are about 8 weeks away from VandeLittle #2 making his appearance in the world, and let me tell you…I’m feeling the pressure! I’ve got a to-do list as long as my arm that I need/want to accomplish before the blessed event. Making a bunch of freezer meals is for sure high on the list, because ya’ll KNOW I’m not going to want to worry about dinner every night with a toddler and a new born to wrangle.

One of my good friends is also expecting a baby in the same time frame, which actually works out great because that means I can just double up on everything and make meals for her and her husband while I’m at it. Two birds, meet one stone!

Freezer meals are one of my favorite ways to make life easier on myself and those I care about. If I’m making a casserole that we love, or really any dish that will freeze well, I’ll often double it up and stick half in the freezer for those days when I haven’t made it to the grocery store or life is just too crazy busy to make something from scratch. When I know of a friend in need, whether due to a new baby, illness, or what have you, in the true Midwestern “hey you need help? here let me feed you…” way, I’ll bring a freezer meal or two. I tend to prefer taking freezer meals rather than hot meals so that they can use them whenever they want or need them, rather than having to eat them right away. Freezer meals for the win!

So, with all of the craziness coming up in mind, I asked a few of my blogger friends to help me put together a list of their Favorite Freezer Meals! Bring on the deliciousness!

Baked Ziti 

Cheesy Smoked Sausage and Vegetable Casserole

Chicken Pot Pie

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Crock Pot Taco Joes

Freezer Friendly Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

Friendship Casserole

Hamburger Soup

Instant Pot Freezer Meal Shredded Beef

Instant Pot Freezer Meal Shredded Chicken

Instant Pot Pork Carnitas

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Spaghetti Pie with Ground Beef

The post Our Favorite Freezer Meals appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.

I live in a town that isn’t exactly known for its options when it comes to dining out. The choices we do have are pretty much limited to a (admittedly fantastic) Chinese buffet, a few pizza places, a drive-in that’s only open during the spring and summer months and has the best chili dogs (they call them Spanish Dogs) ever, and not one but TWO Mexican restaurants. Discussions about where we want to go out to dinner pretty much entail what nationality we want, and when Mexican is picked, North Mexican or South Mexican. It’s not that they each feature dishes from different regions of the country…nope. One is on the North side of town and the other is on the South side.

I get into grooves and moods with my Mexican restaurant dining habits. For multiple visits, I’ll order one type of dish and stick with it. Sometimes it’s steak tacos…Mexican style (with lots of cilantro, onions, and a squeeze of lime). Sometimes it’s as simple as an a la carte chicken burrito. Other weeks it’s arroz con camarones. And it’s always, always (well, unless I’m pregnant like right now. Sigh.) with a margarita on the rocks, no salt.

One of my constant go-to dishes at any Mexican restaurant, though, are pork carnitas. Tender, slow roasted pork that is shredded and served with all of the fixings for delicious build-your-own tacos are a can’t miss. Mouth watering. I never considered trying to make them at home, though, because I knew the pork took hours upon hours to cook properly, and I’m hardly ever on top of things enough in the morning to get dinner going. That is, until, I got my Instant Pot a couple of years ago for Christmas. Talk about a game changer! Now all of those dishes that would usually take forever, like carnitas, can be ready in basically the time it takes to make any other dinner! Now all I have to do is make sure I pull the meat out of the freezer in time to defrost for dinner. I started playing around with ingredients and let me tell you, this recipe is so easy, and so good, you’ll be putting it on your normal rotation, too!

I like to use pork shoulder when I make carnitas, but you can really use any pork roast-type cut you prefer. Start off by making a quick rub: combine olive oil, oregano, cumin, minced garlic, and salt. Rub that tastiness over the top of the pork, using it all. Put a little olive oil in the bottom of your electric pressure cooker to keep anything from sticking, and put a layer of sliced onions down. Lay the pork on top of the onions. Pour the orange juice, chicken broth, any remaining onions, and the can of drained diced jalapenos (you can also use diced green chiles if you prefer things to be a little more mild) around the pork. Pop the lid on, set to pressure cook for 1 hour, and allow to naturally release for 20 minutes. Manual release the rest of the way. Open her up and use two forks to break the pork up into chunks. You can then refrigerate the pork (and the liquid! Don’t forget that liquid!) for later, or move on to the next step right away.

If you want some crispy brown edges to the pork (highly recommended!), do the following right before you’re ready to eat: either in a skillet or the oven (I prefer a skillet because I can keep a better eye on it), place some chunks of pork and use two forks to shred down more. Allow to brown until there are crispy edges, stirring occasionally. Once there are some crispy bits, I always add in a bit of the cooking liquid so they are nice and juicy. Makes for messy eating but it’s worth it!!

To serve, we prefer flour tortillas around here. If you like corn better, go for it. Put some meat on your warmed tortilla, then a layer of lightly dressed broccoli slaw (I just pick up a bag of the pre-shredded broccoli slaw mix at the store and dress it with some jarred slaw dressing) for some tang and crunch, then top that with some chopped cilantro, diced white onion, and a little squeeze of lime. Oh my, my, my.

Oh, and if you want to freeze the carnitas to eat later, just put them in a large gallon freezer bag and defrost/reheat when you’re ready to eat!

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Instant Pot Carnitas

Break out the Instant Pot and make these oh-so-delicious Instant Pot Carnitas! They are tender, juicy, and flavorful...plus they're ready in a fraction of the time thanks to the electric pressure cooker!

Course Main

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword easy dinner, Instant Pot, pork

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

• 1 Pork Shoulder or Pork Roast
• 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 can diced jalapenos or green chiles drained

To Serve

• flour or corn tortillas taco size
• 1 package shredded broccoli slaw
• 3 tbsp jarred slaw dressing approximate
• diced white onion
• chopped cilantro
• lime wedges

Instructions

• Mix 1 tbsp olive oil together with the oregano, cumin, minced garlic, and salt to for a paste. Spread on top of the pork shoulder.
• In the bottom of the electric pressure cooker, spread 1 tbsp of olive oil followed by the sliced onions. Place the pork shoulder, rub side up, on the bed of onions. Pour the diced jalapenos in the pot, along with the orange juice and chicken broth.
• Put the lid on the pot and set to pressure cook for 1 hour. Allow to release naturally for 20 minutes, then manually release the rest of the way.
• Remove the pork from the pot and shred with two forks. Brown the meat on a large skillet until the ends get a little crispy.
• Mix the broccoli slaw with the cole slaw dressing. I prefer mine lightly dressed, but add more dressing as you see fit.
• Once the pork is slightly browned, add some of the cooking liquid into the skillet and let simmer for about a minute.
• Serve the pork on warmed tortillas topped with the slaw, cilantro, onion, and a squeeze of lime.

The post Instant Pot Carnitas appeared first on The Crossroads Cook.