Family Chow Hall

Chili and Cornbread

January 19th, 2007

There must be a thousand different ways to make chili…

Ground meat, shredded meat, no meat.

Thick and chunky, thin and runny.

Blow-your-head-off spicy or mild (or anywhere in-between.)

Lots of vegetables or none at all.

ETC.

Until we moved into the southern regions of the United States, I didn’t know that some people don’t put beans in their chili. To me that’s just weird. I used to really hate the beans - I would mash them with the back of my spoon or slip them into my neighbor’s bowl - but I can’t imagine chili without them.

Below is my recipe for chili, which seems to make 6 out of 7 members of our family happy. The exception is my five-year old, who has a serious aversion to anything resembling soup. I think if I put jelly beans in Kool-Aid and served it in a bowl, Jacob would still not eat it.

I almost always serve cornbread with our chili, so you will find that recipe if you keep scrolling down.

Chili
serves 8 / prep. time: 15 minutes / cook time: 1 hour - all day

1 pound ground beef, the leaner the better
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 can V-8
1 can petit diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Preparation is simple. Brown the ground beef and throw the onions in the pan with it. When it’s done, drain it if necessary. (A good method for draining meat is to push the meat to one side of the pan, fold a few paper towels and sop up the grease with them. Repeat as many times as needed.) After the meat is ready, put everything in your crock-pot and let it cook until dinnertime.

About an hour before dinner, start on the cornbread…

Cornbread
serves 10 / prep. time: 15 minutes / cook time: 40 minutes

3/4 c. shortening (I used coconut oil last night and it worked well)
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. cornmeal
1 c. buttermilk
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Melt the shortening and then cream the sugar into it. Stir in the eggs. Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk. (I don’t usually have buttermilk on hand - add a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of milk, let it rest a few minutes, and it will do nicely.) Mix it all into a nice batter, pour into a greased square baking dish, and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes.

For a special treat, mix 4 Tablespoons of soft butter with the same amount of honey and spread on your warm cornbread.

Enjoy!

Coming up… An explanation for moms of picky eaters…

Entry Filed under: Bread, Old-Fashioned Foods, Recipes, Soup, Supper