My version of chili and cornbread

I have been using this chili and cornbread recipe for years.  I personally like a cornbread that is sweeter and crumbly, but moist and cake-like too.  The chili recipe was adapted from what I thought would be in Wendy's chili.  If you are a Wendy's Chili fan, you are definitely a friend of mine.

But I still love ya, even if you don't like it  :)

I had yet to make this for my babes, but when we were stuck inside sick the other weekend, this was a perfect way to end the night. 

Chili


Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef or turkey (Honestly, there is no taste difference in this dish!)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 red pepper, diced 

1 green pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

One 15-ounce can petite-diced tomatoes

One 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups water

One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained

One 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained 

One 12-ounce can of low-sodium corn, drained (use can use frozen corn too!)

Chili powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, salt and garlic powder, to your own liking. I use a lot.  :)

Directions:

In a stockpot (I used my beautiful blue cast iron love of my life), over medium heat, brown the meat with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Add water, just to cover by 1/2 an inch, and bring to a boil.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Drain and rinse.  Put aside in a small bowl.

Add the olive oil (the pot should still be hot), diced red & green peppers and onion.  Cook for one minute, then add the minced garlic and spices.  Go easy on the chili powder and cayenne at first.  You can always add more later.  Cook for another minute and add the meat, diced tomatoes, tomatoe sauce, water and beans (make sure you drain and rinse those thoroughly.  Check the seasoning and add more if you wish.  Remember, the longer it simmers, the more the heat and spice will develop.  So if it already spicy, it's gonna be a 10 alarm fire in your mouth after simmering...  Make sure there is just a little less spice than you normally like when you check it.  And make sure it is well mixed before you try it.  

I always check after 30 minutes and add more if needed.  

Let it simmer for one hour, at least. Stir occasionally. 

I realize that Wendy's chili doesn't have corn in it.  But I love corn, despite it not being the easiest thing to digest.  So I add it.  :)
My babes loved this chili.  It was the first time I've made it for him and he was HAPPY.  Neither of us like too thick chili; we both like a little bit of the liquid consistency to make it soupy. 
It was delicious, albeit a bit too spicy for him, so next time, I will cut back.  Oops  :)

Now the cornbread!

I don't remember where I found this recipe, but it's pretty good, so it's stuck around. 

Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 stick butter
1 cup granulated sugar 4 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt1 can of creamed corn (I use low sodium these days)16 oz plain yogurt (I use low-fat)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray an 8x8 baking pan w/ cooking spray.

Melt butter in a double broiler. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Add in the yogurt and creamed corn. In a separate bowl, mix together the yellow cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out w/ little crumbles. 
Check it about 20-25 minutes in.  You can usually tell by the outside how quickly it's baking.

I cut some pretty big squares.  Yum...

I put butter on my cornbread.  I usually cut the piece open like a bun and use slightly melted, super soft butter.  This is super fall apart in your hands crumbly, so it will be hard to butter it w/ anything more firm than that. 

Mike and I love our cheese and diced onions on top.  Yum! I like avocado too, but he doesn't.  Sad :(

 

 Nom nom nom