If you are having a crowd over for a big game or just hanging out with friends and family around the holidays and need a big satisfying meal, chili is always a great option. It is a blank canvas and does not require a lot of hands on work. It is also very easy to make gluten free, vegetarian or allergy friendly, which is great when you have a large crowd and don’t know what everyone’s food allergies or preferences are. I don’t think I have ever really made chili the same way twice, but I made this one recently to fuel up some friends before we enjoyed a long walk.
Quinoa Pumpkin Chili for a Crowd
Ingredients
1 to 2 pounds of your favorite beans or mixture of beans
½ of a large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-24 ounce can crushed tomatoes
About ½ a 15 ounce can of pumpkin
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons of chili powder
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
3 Tablespoons of cider vinegar
¾ cup of chicken stock (or vegetable or beef stock)
1 ½ Tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup of quinoa
Optional, add 1 to 2 cups of leftover roasted vegetables and/or turkey, chicken or beef
Directions
Pour all the ingredients into your slow cooker and stir. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low 6-8 hours. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Serve with sour cream and sliced green onions.
This is yet another way to disguise Thanksgiving leftovers. To stretch the meal even further, you can serve it over mac-n-cheese, as I did for lunch the day after I made it.
When you are entertaining for the holidays, having easy meals that can stretch to feed a crowd are very useful. This is a healthy meal and a hearty meal that will give you the fuel to warm you up after hiking, skiing or keep you going during overtime of your favorite team’s game.
What are your favorite crowd pleasing meals? Stay tuned for an extra post this week with some gluten free holiday entertaining ideas and a recipe!
Here are some past crowd pleasing or tailgating recipes and ideas for using leftovers (Always the same disclaimer that they are from before our family started eating gluten free so make adaptations as needed or ask me how I do it! mammascooking@gmail.com
Lessons Learned from Thanksgiving and Cooking in the Aftermath
Pre and Post Thanksgiving Ideas with a Potluck Recipe thrown in
Taco Tuesday – Step outside the Taco Shell (Gluten free!)
Getting Ready for the Holidays
Turkey time, a visit to a butcher shop and italian sausage mac-n-cheese (I think I’ll make this mac-n-cheese GF tonight!)
Thank you to Mamapedia for highlighting Mamma’s Cooking 3 Easy 10 Minute Meals on Mamapedia Voices on Friday!
