Rainy Day Chili

I made this impromptu chili last night using what I had on hand in my kitchen.  It's cold and rainy here so I didn't want to venture out to the grocery store.  I was a bit nervous to see what the results would be but I'm happy to report it turned out DELICIOUS!  I'm so excited because I totally winged this recipe.  Yay me.

1 can 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes
1 can  10 oz. rotel
1 can 7 oz. diced green chile peppers
1 can 15 oz. pinto beans, drained
1 can 15 oz. black beans, drained
1 can 15 oz. corn, drained
1 bottle of beer
pinch of cumin
1/2 lb. chorizo, browned
1 lb. chicken sausage, browned
chili powder
crushed red pepper
whole grain tortilla chips & shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In large pot add first eight ingredients.  Brown chorizo in separate pan and add to pot.  Brown chicken sausage and season with chili powder and crushed red pepper, then add to pot.  I let the chili simmer on the stove for one hour.  Yumm-O.  I crushed up a few Kirkland organic tortilla chips (only has 5 ingredients!) and added some shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Crockpot chili with lots of veggies and Cornbread muffins

I am a big fan of chili and I've been wanting to use my crockpot lately.  I've "liked" 2 crockpot pages on Facebook that post only crockpot recipes.  How genius is that?  The bulk of this recipe I got from Bethenny Frankel but switched it up just a bit.  This is how I modified the recipe and I LOVED it!

½ medium sized onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 pound ground turkey breast (omit if vegetarian)
1 can red pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 zucchini, diced
Throw everything into a crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  *My crockpot cooks super fast so I cooked mine on low for 5 1/2 hours.  This recipe makes a huge pot so it's ideal to freeze some.

In an earlier post, I introduced Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix.   You can find it at Sprout's or Whole Foods.  It's made of whole grain corn and whole wheat flour and other all natural ingredients.  I followed the directions on the packaging to make cornbread muffins.  I also added a small can of cream corn and 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese.  These muffins turned out SO GOOD!!!!  Love them.