Chili and Cornbread

Tonight's meal consisted of chili and cornbread. First, a quick definition of chili courtesy of whatscookingamerica.net: "Chili is a stew-like soup made entirely with meat, chiles or chili powder (or both), and according to what region of the United States you live in, it can also include beans."

Seeing as I come from Ohio, my chili does have beans in it. Also, I did put meat in the recipe as the veggie is away from home... My recipe comes from my mom so here's a shout-out to her!

What You Need:

• red beans
• light kidney beans
• dark kidney beans
• chili (Hormel works nicely)
• chili powder
• chili seasoning (McCormick Original is best)
• tomato juice
• hamburger
• onion
• green pepper
• tomato
• dutch oven, crock pot, or large pot

* I use one can of each type of beans, one packet of chili seasoning, about half a quart of tomato juice, one pound hamburger, one onion, green pepper, tomato

How to Do It:
First, you must brown your hamburger. Often, I will just brown it in my big spaghetti pot that I will use for the chili. After the hamburger is browned, I add my cut up veggies and let everything cook a little. Next, add all the beans at once and throw in the tomato juice. As I like my chili less soupy than others, I only use about half a quart of tomato juice but if you like your chili soupy, you can add the whole quart. Stir everything together and add in the packet of chili seasoning and some chili powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir again and cover. I typically keep my chili on medium low heat the entire time so I don't burn it. You'll want to stir this stuff often, especially if you're not using a non-stick pot, otherwise it could end up sticking and burning and you'll get scorched pieces in your finished product.

* Hint: If your chili starts tasting too tomato-y, I usually add a couple tablespoons of sugar as well as some mustard to help.

As for the cornbread of our meal, from Wikipedia: " Cornbread is a popular item in soul food enjoyed by many people for its texture and aroma. Cornbread can be baked, fried, or, rarely, steamed." My recipe for cornbread comes from the bag of cornmeal I buy at the store.

What You Need:
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup flour
- 2-4 Tbsp. sugar (depending how sweet you want it)
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- baking pan

How to Do It:
First you want to mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl (cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt). Next, in the same bowl, add the milk, egg, and oil and beat until everything is combined. Spray a baking pan with some cooking spray (mine is supposedly a 9x13 but I think it's a bit smaller as it comes from the dollar store). Pour your cornbread mixture into the pan and pop it into the oven at 350° F for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool for a bit and it should pop out of the pan pretty easily.

After everything is prepared, you're ready to eat! I like my cornbread in the bowl first, chili on top. My husband likes his with the cornbread over the chili. Either way, it's delicious! We agree, however on putting loads of shredded cheese and sour cream over the chili. Try it out and comment how your's turned out and if you have any suggestions! Eat hearty!