Pumpkin Crockpot Chili {'Tis the Season}

Quick! It's November and we all know what that means!

This is the last month that it makes any sense to make and eat pumpkin-flavored items.

You know I'm right. 

Get the pumpkin spice creamer, your pumpkin spice latte, make some pumpkin cookies and bake up a pumpkin pie. While you're at it might as well make a pumpkin roll and maybe get a pumpkin cream baked oatmeal (My favorite is from Desserts Etc.) 

Because in less than 30 days the world will move on and it will be a Peppermint-mocha, gingerbread, sugar cookie kinda world.

With that panicked realization I decided at the end of last week to whip up one of my fall-faves.

I know what you're thinking.
Pumpkin and Chili? That's gross. 

I promise. It's not.
You must understand: this is not going to taste like you took kidney beans and beef and plopped them on top of a pumpkin pie. 

That would be gross. 
This chili is good. 
mm kay?

This is a meal that was introduced to me a few years ago and I used to make with ground turkey, which I think is still an excellent choice! But this time around all I had was ground beef in the house so... beef it was! I'm not partial. It tastes good either way! 

Since I shared my yummy recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies a few days back I thought I may as well keep the trend going and for those of you who have never tried it invite you into the world of Pumpkin Chili. 

The Pumpkin and other ingredients add a light sweetness that mixes well with the salty chili
Who doesn't love a little sweet and a little salt!?
And it also helps make it thick and creamy! YUM 

So the original recipe that I used to follow can be found here.
It's good... but I've made some changes a few of which I've explained below but all of which can be seen in the recipe itself! 

1st: the sugar - It calls for 1/4 cup of white sugar which to me was way too much and in something warm and fall-like I thought brown sugar would be a much better option. (I was right) 

2nd: The tomato juice - The original recipe calls for an ENTIRE can of tomato juice. Maybe it's just me, but I like my chili chunky! An entire can of tomato juice will make it incredibly watery! I nix the tomato juice all together and just add another can (or 2) of tomatoes.

3rd:  I don't use green pepper. I just don't. One more thing to chop. I don't like chopping. 

4th: The cooking method. This is my favorite change that I made! I cook the chili in the crockpot and not on the stove. Because I love as little work as possible and I like a meal that prepares itself all day for my enjoyment! 

Okay so with those things said, here you have my version of this delicious fall must-eat delight! 
Enjoy! 

Next month: Peppermint Mocha Chili. 
Kidding. 
That's gross. Don't even joke about that. 

Pumpkin Chili in the Crockpot

You will need:

olive oil

salt

pepper

2 (ish) lbs of ground beef (I use anywhere between 2 and 3 lbs)

1 large onion chopped (if you don't like chunky chili go ahead and dice the onion)

1 can of kidney beans (drained)

1 can of black beans (drained)

1 can of chili beans (not drained)
3-4 cans of diced tomatoes with their juice (I don't like spicy, but if you do you can make these the ones with green chilis! ZINGA)
1 whole can of pumpkin puree
1.5 T pumpkin pie spice
2 T Chili Powder (again, you can add more if you are a fan of your mouth burning. I'm not)
2 T brown sugar

In a skillet heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat and add meat and onions together. Brown the meat. (about 10 minutes.) Season well with salt and pepper (or to taste). Then drain and add to crockpot. Add all other ingredients to crock pot and stir. Set crockpot to low for 7-8 hours.

You can do whatever you want in those 8 hours! That's the beauty of the crock pot!
Once finished, stir and scoop into a bowl. Feel free to add your favorite toppings - cheese, sour cream, corn bread or even tortilla chips! 

Only a few more days of it being socially acceptable to make pumpkin-flavored food so... get on it!