This chili has a sweet and smoky flavor with a spicy kick. I added meat to give this dish some substance and to make it last for more than one meal. You can make it either with or without the meat. To compliment this chili, I’m serving it with Krusteaz’s Honey Cornbread.

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
2 15oz. cans black beans, drained
1 15oz. can corn, drained
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5oz. can S&W Petite Cut Tomatoes with Sweet Onions and Roasted Garlic
1 7oz. can LaVictoria diced green chiles
1 pkg. The Spice Hunter Chili Mix
1 clove garlic

Directions

1. Dump all of the ingredients into a dutch oven, except meat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer.
2. Brown meat until it’s fully cooked. You can spice it up a bit with minced onion and southwestern seasoning or cook it plain. Drain the fat. Add to the soup.
3. Simmer chili for at least thirty minutes before serving.
4. Garnish with cheese and sour cream.

Ingredients

1 pound navy beans, soaked
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
8 ounces chopped green chiles
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves
14 ounces chicken broth
1 cup water

Directions

1. Put beans in medium pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and allow to simmer 20 minutes. Discard water. Variation: To save time, you can subsitute the navy beans by buying canned white beans. Make sure to drain them.

2. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces.

3. Put all ingredients in your slow cooker and mix thoroughly.

4. Cook on low 10-12 hours or high 5-6 hours.

Serves 6-8

I found this cookbook sitting in the giftshop of the Austin State History Museum and was immediately attracted to the cover. The book was shrinkwrapped, which didn’t allow me to look through it while I was there. I’ve quoted an excerpt of the synopsis, which was the ultimate selling point for me.

Whether you’re hungry for down-home barbecue and Tex-Mex, or you want to try more exotic dishes such as Paella Valenciana and Thai Pesto, Texas Highways has long been a trusted source for delicious recipes that reflect wide-ranging Lone Star tastes. The state’s official travel magazine published its first Texas Highways Cookbook, which has sold 20,000 copies in 1986.

Cooking with Texas Highways samples all the major ethnic cuisines of the state with recipes from home cooks, well-known chefs, and popular restaurants. It offers a varied and intriguing selection of snacks and beverages, breads, soups and salads, main dishes, vegetables and sides, sauces and spreads, desserts, and more.

After I returned from my vacation, I pulled the cookbook out of my suitcase and unwrapped it. Cooking with Texas Highways is very well designed and contains just what the cover promised. The recipes inside this book are very easy to follow.

As a Mexican food lover, I was pleased to find a recipe for tamales as well as a variety of enchilada recipes. I’ll be testing those recipes out, plus some Vietnamese and Thai dishes since I’ve never attempted to cook these cuisines. Look for my results in future posts.