So tonight my beloved brother, his wife (one of my favorite people in the world), and their two lil' girlies are coming to visit us for a couple of days. I figure there is roughly 100square feet per person with them in our tiny house but couldn't care less! Im so excited! Anyway, so they get in pretty late (its 11pm now and they aren't here yet) and I reckoned they would be pretty hungry (we generally tend to be in my family :) so for dinner tonight I whipped up a big pot of chili and some crusty corn bread since it's the kind of thing that will be as tasty later as it was at 7. Having never made chili before in my life I tried my hand at a batch a few weeks ago and have been making it (upon popular request) on a weekly basis ever since. My basic recipe came from SmittenKitchen, a food blog I adore, and have since made a few tweaks that seemed to render it worth posting up here for y'all. The gluten-free corn bread is a slight variation on my (southerner) mom's classic recipe in which you heat the oil in a cast iron skillet before mixing it in to the batter and it makes you the tastiest crusty corn bread you ever did try... Those of you who are avoiding gluten will appreciate that it tastes no different (if not better) than most with gluten, although those of you on the 4HB diet will have to save this part for binge day.
So! On to the recipes!
Bison and Red Bean Chili (with secret zucchini and cocoa powder)
- 2-4 strips pasture raised bacon, chopped into little pieces
- 1 large shallot (mine was huge- an onion can work too)
- 3-5 cloves garlic (your choice)
- 2lbs ground bison
- 1c beef broth (extra points if you make a bone broth and use that)
- 1 14.5oz can organic crushed tomatoes
- 1 large zucchini, grated
- 1/4 C chili powder
- 1T ground cumin
- 1T unsweetened cocoa (strange? perhaps, but SK swears by it and now I do too)
- 2 15oz cans of kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 T apple cider vinegar
- salt (I like smoked salt for this one but kosher works too)
optional toppings (which are, in my opinion, hardly optional):
- chopped fresh cilantro
- sour cream*
- sprinkle of grated cheddar cheese
1. In a large stock pot cook the bacon until done through or even a little crispy (depending on your preference)
2. Throw in the chopped shallot and/or onion and cook till translucent (add a dash of olive oil if needed)
3. Add the bison and brown
4. Stir in crushed garlic, chili, cumin, and cocoa
5. Add in grated zucchini and cook for 1-2 minutes
6. Add tomatoes and simmer on low for 10 minutes
7. Add beans and vinegar, season to taste
8. Eat it all up! YUM!
* If you are going to eat dairy, try your best to find diry from pasture raised organic cows. SOO much tastier and much much better for you and the planet. I've just discovered this company, Kalona Super Naturals, and oh my gawd, is there stuff great! I still cant do much of it but when I chose to I make sure it's good!
Mama's Best Cornbread (made gluten-free!)
- Olive Oil (and/or bacon drippings if you are so inclined)
- 1/4C Pamela's Gluten-Free baking mix
- 1 1/4C Cornmeal (I like to mix textures but if you can only chose one choose smooth ground)
- 2 1/4t baking powder
- 1/4t baking soda
-1t salt
- 1c buttermilk (milk with a splash of apple cider vinegar works too)
- 1 egg
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 450F. Fill the bottom of a cast iron skillet with approx 1/4" of oil and put in oven to heat.
2. In a large mixing bowl mix dry ingredients (note- if you have a 2c measure you can measure all the flours in it like this:
3. Measure out the milk then add the cup to the cup and beat till mixed (saves a dish!)
4. Add the wet to the dry, mixing only very BRIEFLY
5. Once oil is hot in oven, pour excess into the batter, stir until just incorporated, and immediately pour back into hot skillet.
6. Spread batter out to edges and bake for 20-30minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cut into slices, spread with pasture butter and honey and enjoy!
