Mexican Cornbread

This is the perfect addition to a bowl of Chili.  I made this several times until I got this recipe CORRECT.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Jiffy Cornbread mix
• 1 C. frozen corn
• ½ C. sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1 C. Mexican cheese or Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 C. of jalapeño peppers, pickled
• 1 can of Rotel tomatoes, drained

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Place the last three ingredients into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped
3. Combine all of the ingredients until well incorporated
4. Pour into 9” x 9” cast iron skillet or stoneware baking pan and bake for 40 minutes

Tips and Tricks:

• I use light sour cream for this recipe.
• Jiffy Cornbread has a sweetness that we LOVE.  You can use other cornbread mixes, but this is our favorite.
• I serve this with Chili.

Chili

This is my mother-in-law, Dotty's Chili recipe.  It is quick and yummy.  She says she does not use beer, so I'm not sure when I added that step, but it gives the chili a good flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 1 medium onion chopped fine
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 can of beer
• ¼ C. chili powder
• ½ T. sugar
• 1 T. salt
• ½ T. pepper
• hot sauce to taste

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven on medium heat, brown the ground meat then drain
2. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat and sauté onions until limp
3. Add tomato paste and chili powder, stir well and brown
4. Add beer and sugar
5. Cook for 30 min
6. Add salt, pepper and hot sauce if desired

Tips and Tricks:

• Don’t use a light beer.
• If you double or triple this recipe, be careful with the chili powder.  It seems to me that chili powder intensifies the more you add.  The strength of chili powder differs greatly.  It depends on what kind you use.
• This freezes great!