This has been home for the past 4 days for me while we have been elk hunting with friends. I had to return to work on Wedneday, but everyone else stayed in for a full week. It has been a snowy, fun-filled trip, ending with two nice bulls harvested, many more we were privileged to see, and a week full of great memories. This was the final trip for the horses this year, who are now officially on “vacation” for the winter, and Jade was a good camp dog, even joining me INSIDE my sleeping bag for the first night.

Last week before going out of town on a conference, I made one of my staple cold-weather recipes, chili, knowing there would be a few days of leftovers. Ground elk, venison, or beef all work great in this.

Elk Chili

Serves 6-8

• 1 lb ground elk
• 14 oz. can red beans (around here they are called “chili-ettes”)
• 4 oz can diced green chilis, drained
• ~ 8 oz. fresh tomatoes, diced (I used our garden tomatoes that had ripened up) OR 3/4 can diced tomatoes
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• taco seasoning– I use Kittencal’s taco seasoning recipe from food.com
• 1/4 c medium salsa
• 1/4 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/8 tsp.pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1.5 tsp. cumin
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1.5 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. Worcestshire
• cheddar cheese & green onion–optional

1. Brown ground elk and season with taco seasoning. While meat is cooking, chop vegetables.

2. Dump meat into crockpot and add in remaining ingredients.

3. Cook in crockpot on LOW 4-6 hours. (My crockpot gets very hot on low, so adjust accordingly). Garnish with cheddar cheese and green onions.

4. Refrigerate leftovers once cool. We like using leftovers in scrambled eggs, in tortillas w/ cheese and salsa, or on hot dogs.