Slow-cooked chili and cornbread cake

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is to hang out with my husbands family, have dinner and share a bottle (or two) of wine. Luckily I get to do this around once a month; it is always loud, chaotic, and I love it. We got together today and I made chili and cornbread for everyone. I believe everyone enjoyed it because when I went back for seconds the crockpot was scraped dry. I need to learn to eat faster if I want more food. If you are having people over for the superbowl this would make a nice easy meal for your guests.

Slow-cooked chili

2 pounds ground turkey (use whatever you have on hand, ground beef or chicken would work as well)
1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (again, use what you like, kidney beans, white beans, etc.)
2 (14.5) ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (use two cans if you like more sauce in your chili)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
shredded cheddar cheese
light sour cream

In a saucepan cook the turkey and onions over medium heat until brown; about 10 minutes. Drain the fat off. Put the meat/onion mixture in your slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the cheese and sour cream. Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.  The amount of time depends on how fast you want dinner to be ready. Serve with the cheese and sour cream for garnish.

Serves 10

Chopped onions

Browned turkey and onions

The finished chili

I hesitate to call the following a recipe because it is so simple. I will tell it to you like it was passed on to me. Take a yellow cake mix and add two boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix. Make the cake following the directions (and using the ingredients called for) on the back of the box. It might take a little longer for the cake to bake because of the added cornbread mix. This makes a delicious hybrid of cake/cornbread and it is always well liked.

(Thanks to Luna Wong for sharing the recipe with me)

Making the cornbread batter

Close up of the finished batter

The cornbread was cut into and eaten too quickly for me to get a finished picture. I will have to be quicker next time.

Till tomorrow...