Chili and Cornbread - A Perfect Pair

Hello Friends.  Warm welcomes to Norway, New Zealand, Azerbaijan and Taiwan.  I am excited to have our new readers on board.

Well, today it's about my husband.  Not only is he a fabulous photographer, but he also contributes in other ways to the blog on occasion.  He's handy with cookie decorating as well as one heck of a cook.  This week's blog entry covers his very yummy chili recipe.  Winters in Michigan can be filled with extremes.  Last year we had an unseasonably warm Winter with very little snowfall.  This year has proven to be the exact opposite.  We've had some frigid temperatures and TONS of snow.  Though, looking out the window today you'd never know it.  46 degrees and rainy (which means all of that snow has completely melted).  The day that the husband made his amazing chili it was a cold and blustery day and chili was a must on the menu.  As you'll see in the recipe below there are tons of ingredients (mostly spices - a pic of which is now a part of my blog header), however, this recipe is very flexible.  For example, this time around we used ground chuck and ground venison.  It was absolutely superb.  The husband also reduced some of the "hotter" spices so that our son could enjoy it as well.  This is a great Saturday or Sunday dinner dish.  Once you've thrown all of the ingredients into your pot, you let it go for hours, stirring occasionally.  As always, chili is even better on day two. 

Accompanying the chili was a jalapeno cheddar cornbread (my contribution to this lovely meal).  I have always wanted to make homemade cornbread but had never tried.  I came across this recipe on Pinterest and had to give it a whirl.  You will need a cast iron skillet (preferably seasoned) for this recipe.  Here is a pic of the meal as well as the recipe for the chili:

Jeff’s Chili

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef chuck/turkey/venison

1 lb bulk Italian sausage

3- 15 oz cans mild chili beans, w/sauce

1-15 oz can medium chili beans, w/sauce

2-28 oz cans diced tomatoes, w/juice

1-6oz can tomato paste

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped

5 slices of smoked bacon, chopped

1 can of beer

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ c chili powder

¼ c ancho chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp ground cumin

4 cubes beef bouillon

1 Tbsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 Tbsp white sugar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

Toppers:

Hot pepper sauce; corn chips; shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese; sour cream

Directions:

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Start cooking the bacon, rendering some of the fat.

Add onion and celery, until onion begins to soften.

Place all meat into the mixture and cook until browned; drain excess grease.

Add remaining ingredients and stir to blend; Cover and simmer on low heat for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.  Add additional salt, pepper and/or chili powder as needed.  The longer this dish cooks, the better it tastes.

Here is the link to the jalapeno cheddar cornbread.  As you can see, it can be made as muffins or in a skillet.  We chose to make it in the skillet:

 http://addapinch.com/cooking/2012/10/28/cheddar-jalapeno-cornbread-muffins-recipe/

That's it for today.  I hope to have another post later this week.  Back to a few desserts and the wonderful mac and cheese recipe that my husband has mastered.  Have a great day! Please remember, if there is anything you'd like to see in this blog, please post and I'll see what I can do.  May you all have many Happy Adventures in the Kitchen!