When we have Chili Beans dh always insist we have cornbread and slaw. I just made the slaw and that reminded me of the times I’ve accidentally added too much vinegar or lemon juice, mayonnaise or sugar. To salvage my slaw I’ve poured half or all of my slaw into a strainer and rinsed it briefly with water. I let it drain and start over.
For the cornbread I’m just making it from Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. Dh and the boys like it better than homemade (I like homemade) but I’m out of buttermilk and I don’t like to substitute it by mixing vinegar or lemon juice in milk. If you’ve read any of my recipes you’ll notice that I improvise a lot! I had about 2 tablespoons of sour cream in the fridge so I just added that to my cornbread mix along with the milk and eggs. No sense in wasting it. When I’m making cornbread from a mix I double it and pour it in a baking sheet that I sprayed with oil or Pam. It bakes faster and everyone likes that they get more crunchy bites. I cut my cornbread into serving pieces and store it in my cake keeper. I take the crumbs that are left and pour that into my pot of Chili Beans. Why waste it? It helps to thicken the Chili Beans too.
For the meat I use ground chuck. But sometimes I’ll use ground Sirloin. Food Lion has a sale several times a year on Sirloin Tips. When they’re on sale it’s much cheaper than ground beef or ground chuck. Most people don’t realize that your butcher will grind it for you. They will cut it into roast, cube steak, grind, or cut it into stew beef. Most of the time I have him cut half for a roast and grind the rest. If they have any roast on sale sometimes it’s cheaper than the ground beef and I’ll have that ground. I’ve also cut up roast into beef stew because it was cheaper. Substitute half or all of the meat with TVP (textured vegetable protein) for a healthier and cheaper meal.
For the Chili Beans I have no certain recipe. I usually soak 2 pounds of pinto beans with about a teaspoon of baking soda for about 8 hours. I always check the beans for dirt or any foreign objects then I rinse several times before I soak. I pour off the water I soaked them in and rinse again and pour fresh water back into my pot of beans. I bring my beans to a boil and turn down the burner to about medium. Depending on the age of the beans but it takes several hours. I brown the ground chuck with fresh diced or dried minced onions and drain. I pour that into my beans along with 2 cans of tomato sauce. Today I used a pack of tomato sauce from the freezer that I made last month. I’ve used chopped tomatoes in place of the sauce before. Canned or fresh will work. For the spices I use Chili Powder, Turmeric, Cayenne Pepper, Curry powder, Clove powder, salt, and black pepper. But I have a secret ingredient. It’s chocolate! Well I think now days most of you have heard of that. Use just a few small pieces of any chocolate, dark, Hershey’s kisses, or even cocoa powder. It really enhances the flavor. This is one meal that everybody in the house loves. Another tip! LOL Mama adds a big scoop of peanut butter to her pinto beans. I would say about 1/3 cup. You can add about ¼ cup or more in your Chili Beans for another level of flavor. And no it doesn't make it taste like peanut butter!
Fall is my favorite time of the year. Right now it’s cool out and softly raining. I was able to cook a meal for my family today and get a little cleaning done. I am blessed.
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