Pumpkin Quinoa Chili

This winter has been interleaving extreme-cold chili weather and reasonably-temperate chili weather, swinging from low 10s to high 50s every week or so. On this particular Saturday it was particularly somewhere-in-between-extreme-cold-and-reasonably-temperate chili weather, so we seized the opportunity and made chili. The recipe we used was a little different than canonical chili in that it had pumpkin and quinoa added. Pumpkin has a pretty mild taste, and quinoa has no taste, so these additions were mostly for adding nutrient value and texture. Still, the whole thing was easy and delicious.

1 pound ground beef
½ cup diced celery
1 large onion (diced)
1-14 ounce can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
1-14 ounce can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1-14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1-16 ounce jar salsa (whatever you like)
1-6 ounce can tomato sauce

2 cups canned pumpkin

½ cup uncooked quinoa

1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t ground cumin

1 t salt

1/4 t onion powder

1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t dried oregano
1/4 t red pepper flakes

1. In the slow cooker, combine all ingredients, except the quinoa. Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.
2. In the last half hour of cooking, add the uncooked quinoa.
3. Serve topped with Greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, and cilantro.

Nutrition per serving (does not include toppings): 431 calories, 9g fat, 53g carbs, 36g protein

Adapted from http://blog.anytimefitness.com/395459-recipe-slow-cooker-pumpkin-quinoa-chili/.