Today at the grocery store I picked up these super cute mini pumpkins to try and get us in the Fall mood...
Next week we are going to go to our storage unit and get all of our Halloween decorations out. Hopefully get out of this funk and get with the holiday!
Tonight I decided to make another freezer meal to put in the deep freeze for when Zara gets here. Chili, it's just so awesome isn't it? I love it every way and with all different toppings. I like a little bit of cheese and sour cream. My husband loves to turn his into frito pie!
First and most important step in making chili in my opinion is to brown the meat really really well. If you throw too much in the pan it will just steam. You really need to get those dark browned almost burnt pieces so that as they braise in the liquid they give off delicious flavor and soften up. I used a pound of ground sirloin and a pound of pork. When I put them in the Dutch oven I realized there wasn't enough space to get the meat to caramelize so I grabbed another pan and added half the meat into there. Then cooked on high for a good long time, using a splatter guard cause that oil hurts! I've got a couple of oil spots on my hand before I realized I needed the guard! Once the meat was browned I added half an onion chopped then a large garlic clove minced.
Once they were softened I added the seasonings. 4 tablespoons of chili powder, it seems like a lot but my mother always taught me to put a lot in, 2 tablespoons of cumin, 1/2 tbls of oregano, a large pinch of salt and a couple grinds of pepper. Stirred those with the meat to toast them in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Then I added a whole small can of tomato paste and really stirred that into the meat to cook the raw taste of it out before adding the liquids.
After that cooked out I added some beer, all I had was Modelo but it went really nice with this chili.
Next I added a can of tomato sauce with roasted garlic, a can of diced tomatoes with green peppers, onions, and celery, a can of chicken stock because I was out of beef, a can of diced tomatoes with chili seasoning, and a can of beans with chili seasoning.
I know this wasn't Italian but I had a small amount of Parmesan leftover that I didn't want to go to waste and needed the salt from it so I threw that in too!
Stirred and put the lid on, turned it down to medium low and let it go for 2 1/2 hours. Tasted it for seasoning, added a bit more salt and boom, deliciousness!
While that was cooking I made a moist wonderful cakey-like cornbread! First I put in 3 cups of All Purpose Flour, 1 cup of cornmeal, 1 1/3 cups of sugar, 2 tablespoons of baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt into a mixing bowl. Then added 4 eggs into another bowl.
I slightly beat the eggs then added 2 1/2 cups of buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of honey, 2/3 cup of vegetable oil, and 1/3 cup of melted butter.
Then a can of creamed corn.
I started to realize that I used way too small of a mixing bowl but I was already going with this one so I stuck with it!
I mixed the wet into the dry mixture.
Took a little patience but finally came together. I put half in an 8x8 inch glass dish for tonight's dinner and the other half in an 8x8 inch aluminum dish to freeze.
Then baked at 350° for 45 mins till they set and browned on the edges.
To plate I cut a wedge, drizzled it with extra honey, put the chili in a bowl and topped with a dollup of sour cream, shredded Sharp Cheddar, and some chopped green onions. So yummy! I was told it was the best chili my family has ever put in their mouth :)
Now laying in bed eating a tums from my horrible heartburn (totally worth it with that chili) I am finally about to get some sleep. Zara needs to chill cause she is still going nuts from the chili! Even uncomfortable as crap I love my family and I'm very content with my life!
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