Slow Cooker Roasted Poblano Pepper Chili

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, & diced
• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeds removed & diced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium red onion, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 lb pork sausage (plain, italian, or hot all work well!)
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. ground adobo pepper (Knorr makes little cubes of this stuff that's delicious!!)
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
• 1 Tbsp. onion salt
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. ground pepper
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 1 15oz can dark kidney beans, drained & rinsed)
• 1 15 oz can tri-bean medley (pinto, black & kidney beans), drained & rinsed
Optional Toppings:
• crumbled Cotija cheese or Monterrey Jack cheese
• scallions, thinly sliced
• tortilla strips
• sour cream (or Fage 0% Greek Yogurt- it tastes just like sour cream only healthier!)

Instructions

ROASTING POBLANO CHILES:
1. Place peppers directly over open flame. This can be your gas stove top, gas or charcoal barbecue grill, or in your oven's broiler if you don't have any of the other choices at hand.
2. Allow the pepper to blister & turn black. Don't worry, you won't be eating this, it will get peeled off.
3. Once the peppers are blistered evenly all over, immediately place in a zip lock bag & allow to steam for about 10 minutes while you chop your other vegetables.
4. Once the peppers have steamed & cooled to to the touch, remove from ziplock bag. Holding pepper by the stem in one hand, use your other hand to "peel" off the blackened skin. I do this by wrapping my hand around the top & pulling down. Usually most of the blistered skin will come right off in 1 or 2 tries.
5. Once the peppers have been peeled, open them to remove the stem & seeds. Chop cleaned peppers & add to your other veggies.
PREPARING THE CHILI:
6. Dice bell peppers, jalapeño & prepared poblano peppers & onions. Set aside. Mince garlic separately. It will be added separate from veggies.
7. Measure out & combine all of the spices into a bowl & set aside. This will help cut down on measuring time once the meat is ready to be seasoned.
8. Heat olive oil to heavy bottomed stockpot over high heat. Add chiles, onion & peppers cooking until soft for about 4-5 minutes.
9. Add garlic & continue to cook over high heat for 1 additional minute.
10. Add ground beef & pork & cook until no longer pink & meat begins to brown. Add spices & continue to cook for about another 4 minutes or until it becomes really delicious smelling.
11. In a crockpot, add rinsed kidney & 3-bean medley, tomato paste, tomato sauce & chicken stock. Stir to combine.
12. Add meat & veggie mixture to slow cooker. Cover & turn on HIGH for 2-4 hours. The longer it cooks, the better the flavor!