EAT | Crockpot Chili + Cornbread

One of my husband JJ’s favorite things to eat is chili with cornbread.  This meal is super easy and takes all day in the slow cooker.  The thing I love about chili is that you can add whatever you want to it, and make it as spicy or as mild as you like.  My husband loves to have beans in his chili, so I add those in for him.  To go with it, a delicious and slightly sweet cornbread.  Let’s get cookin’!

CHILI

What you’ll need:

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 lbs ground beef (or any ground meat/meat sub you like)
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can kidney beans (optional)

Dice up your onion and red bell pepper.

Heat oil and sauté onion and peppers until soft.

Add garlic, chili powder, salt, cumin, and stir.

Add ground beef, and cook till brown.

Pour mixture into the crockpot, add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (with juice) and beans (optional).

Stir, and set on low for 8 hours, or high for 6 hours.  The longer it cooks, the better it is.

Here it is 6 hours later.

Let’s make some cornbread to go with it, shall we?

CORNBREAD

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Vegan alternatives:

• 1 stick Earth Balance butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil instead of eggs
• 1 cup soy milk instead of buttermilk 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter, add sugar, eggs, and stir.

Combine baking soda with buttermilk, and add to mixture.

Add cornmeal, flour, and salt.

Pour into round pan (so everyone gets an edge piece) 

Bake for 30-40 min or until the top and edges are slightly brown.  (Or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean).

When your 5 year old asks for more cornbread instead of having candy as her treat that night, you know it’s good! 

I like mine with Fritos.

Hope you enjoyed these recipes and will try them!

Thanks for reading xx