Chili & Corn Bread

We love this. The chili part is great by itself. Choose other beans & meat if you like – or none.

Chicken & Black Bean Chili

Brown bite-sized pieces of boneless chicken breast in olive oil. Sprinkle with chili & salt. They cook fast. If you have the time, shred the meat. Otherwise, cut bite-size pieces.

Chili: Fry sliced onions, 1 chopped green pepper, 2 cloves garlic (crushed) in olive oil. In a small bowl mix 2-4 T. chili with 1 T. flour & add enough water or broth to make a paste. Stir this into the onions, etc., & cook a minute or two to take away the raw flour taste. Add a small can of chopped jalapeño peppers (mild ones) or add chopped fresh hot peppers if you like. Also add 2 C. chicken or vegetable broth, a small can of chopped tomatoes, a little wine vinegar, a little sugar (1/2 to 1 tsp.), salt, & about 1 tsp. cumin. Taste & adjust. Cook about 2 hours on low. This is a good chili sauce for anything.

Beans: Any kind of bean is fine. I use black beans. Sort beans to remove stones (I found one last year.) & bring to a boil with an inch of water above the top of beans. Let stand an hour. Pour out water & add plenty of fresh water. Bring to boil & then cook on low until beans are soft. Add more water if necessary. Add salt.

Mix it all together – chili, chicken, beans – & cook until hot. Or serve separately, with cheese & chopped onions.

Corn Bread

Turn oven to 500°. Put 3 T. butter in a 10-inch skillet & put that into the oven. Take it out when the butter melts.

Mix 1 C. cornmeal, 1/2 C. flour, 1 T. sugar, & 1/2 tsp. each: salt, soda, baking powder. Measure 1 C. buttermilk (I use regular milk with about 1 T. cider vinegar.) into a glass measuring cup & add 1 egg. Mix together. Add liquid to dry ingredients. Pour into the hot pan. You can either mix the melted butter into the batter or let it stay around the sides. I prefer mixing. Bake at 500° until firm, about 10 minutes.

I have frozen leftover chili, & it seems like a good idea, but it's not. Some of the zip is gone. I guess the textures meld.