Chili and Cornbread

Ok so I'm going to start adding a few recipes that only one person has seen before. The next couple come from a cookbook Stef and I made for my awesome cousin Mariah's graduation and a present to her. The hope being that good food can be a great starting place for comfort in the uncomfortable. I hope that she doesn't mind I share a few and I hope that you all enjoy them too so first off, one of my favorites, Chili and Cornbread...

Chili and Cornbread

This chili recipe is a really good starting place. We pretty much always just make vegetarian chili but you can easily add ground beef or turkey to the pan with the onions and then add everything else after the meat starts to brown. This recipe makes a large batch so I recommend halving it and just using two cans of beans, whichever type you prefer. Same goes for the bell peppers, use whatever color you find at the store that look good. Just to note though, red bell peppers are usually more expensive than the green bell peppers but they have twice the vitamin C than the green ones (and also 2x that of an orange) and also have more than your daily amount of vitamin A. Also play with the spices depending on how spicy you like it. Cayenne pepper adds a lot of spiciness if you like it that way and chopped jalapenos also add a good kick. Other things that I like to add to my chili are cubed sweet potatoes (add them early on), lime zest and juice, and a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cups chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 (16-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add sugar and remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

Corn Bread:

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup whole wheat or white flour

¼ brown or white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 egg

½ cup frozen or fresh corn kernels (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Lightly oil a 9 x 6 inch baking dish or loaf pan with vegetable oil. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, combine the milk, oil and egg (and corn if using it). Add all the other ingredients and still just to combine. Do not over mix. Pour the mixture into the baking pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with honey.