Pumpkin Chili (Crock Pot)

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 4 hours
Servings: Around 6
Recipe type: dinner, stew, chili
Keywords: crock pot, slow cooker, vegan, vegetarian, stew, gluten free
Author: Kat Coolahan

Ingredients:

☆ 1/4 large yellow onion, diced
☆ 4 garlic cloves, minced
☆ 1 tsp coconut sugar (or granulated sugar)
☆ ½ medium green pepper, chopped
☆ ½ medium zucchini, chopped
☆ 1 carrot, chopped
☆ 2 stalks celery, chopped
☆ 1 can black beans (15oz), rinsed and drained
☆ 1 can pinto beans (15oz), rinsed and drained
☆ ½ cup quinoa (rinsed in a fine mesh sieve under cold water)
☆ 1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (15oz)
☆ 1 can pumpkin puree (15oz)
☆ 2 TBL chili powder
☆ 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
☆ 1 TBL maple syrup
☆ 1 ½ tsp salt
☆ 3 cups vegetable broth
☆ freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
☆ optional: ½ head of kale, chopped and de-stemmed
☆ optional: pumpkin seeds and vegan sour cream or unsweetened coconut yogurt (for serving)

Directions:

1. Sautee onion and garlic with coconut sugar in a pan over medium heat until they start to brown/caramelize (5-10 mins). You may also omit the sugar and skip this step if you wish, instead adding uncooked onion and garlic to the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add remaining ingredients to your crock pot (except kale if using), stirring well to combine. Cook covered on high for 4 hours (or low for 8 hours), stirring occasionally. If using kale, stir in the before the last hour of cooking time.
3. Serve chili over rice with (optional) pumpkin seeds and sour cream to top.

Coconut Lentil Curry (Crock Pot)

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: around 5 hours
Servings: 10-12
Recipe type: slow cooker, crock pot, dinner, lunch, curry, feeding large crowd, freezer meals, meal prep
Keywords: coconut, lentil, curry, vegan, vegetarian, hearty, filling, cheap, frugal, inexpensive, plant based
Author: Kat Coolahan (modified from Budget Bytes recipe)

 Ingredients:

☆ 4 cups of vegetable broth
☆ 1 can of diced, fire-roasted tomatoes (15 oz)
☆ 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
☆ 2 cups of dried green or brown lentils, rinsed
☆ 2 celery stalks, diced
☆ 1/2 green pepper, diced
☆ 2 carrots, diced
☆ 1 large sweet potato (or 2-3 yukon gold potatoes), chopped into ½ inch cubes
☆ 3 TBS curry powder
☆ 1 tsp fenugreek powder (optional)
☆ ¼ tsp ground cloves (optional)
☆ ½ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
☆ 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
☆ 1 tsp salt and few dashes pepper, or to taste
☆ 1 can of full-fat coconut milk (15 oz)
☆ 1/2 can peas (or approximately 7.5oz), rinsed and drained
☆ 3 heaping handfuls of baby spinach (or around 3-4 cups)

Directions:

1.     Turn your crock pot on high and add to it 4 cups vegetable broth, 1 can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, and 1 can of tomato sauce. Then, rinse the lentils and add to the pot. Stir.
2.     Dice the celery, carrot, and pepper and chop the sweet potato and stir them into the crock pot.
3.     Stir in all spices. Add water or more vegetable broth if needed to bring the water level to just cover the curry. Set aside the can of coconut, can of peas, and spinach for later.  
4.     Cook covered on high for 4.5 hours or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally to evenly distribute heat.
5.     Add in 1 can of coconut, ½ can of peas (rinsed), and 3 heaping handfuls of spinach and stir. Cover and let cook for an additional 20-40 minutes, or until spinach is wilted and curry is cooked to your preference.
6.     Eat as is or serve with rice or roasted potatoes/vegetables or a side salad. Recipe freezes well.