Crock-Pot Chili w/ Venison

Earlier this week I was chatting with my friend Rob about the benefits of slow-cooking. From this conversation I got a craving for some chili. And since my Dad had given me a couple small venison steaks and since I've never used it in chili before I decided to give it a try.

I used my usual technique of first browning the meat in a sauce pan and then adding it and all the other ingredients to the crock pot (along with spices). My typical mix is some beans, corn, and tomatoes but you can add other ingredients based off your liking (and most importantly, what's in your pantry). So I got everything in the slow cooker and left for work. When I came home this evening I was greeted to the smell of delicious chili.

To go along with my meal (since I was out of crackers) I made a little pasta. While cooking the pasta I remembered that this past weekend I picked up some frozen fresh basil at Trader Joes. They have these little ice cube tray looking things with a teaspoon of chopped herbs per cube. I think there are 3 different herbs to choose from. Since the pack of 20 little cubes was less than $2 I added it to the cart. So tonight I took out one of the cubes and added it to the cooked pasta; it thawed instantly. I then spooned some chili on top of the pasta along with a little cheese and my meal was made.

I like how the chili turned out but what really made the meal was the basil on the pasta. It added so much flavor and really balanced out well with the spiciness of the chili. As for the venison, there was a slightly different flavor than the usual beef chili, but really, if you didn't know it was venison, it would be hard to tell.