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.

If you’re unfamiliar with Chevy’s Mexican Restaurant, their tomalito is a sweet corn pudding that is served on the side with many of their dishes. Whenever I go there, I try to pick a dish that will be served with this creamy side dish. Tomalito makes a perfect compliment to chili, enchiladas, fajitas, taquitos, etc.

Ingredients

4 cups frozen corn, thawed
1/3 cup butter, softened (2/3 stick)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup masa harina
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. Cream softened butter together with sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the milk and masa and mix well.
3. Puree 2 cups of the corn in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add puree to butter/masa mixture and mix well. Then mix in the remaining ingredients until well combined.
4. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8×8″ baking pan. Cover with foil and place into a 9×13″ baking pan. Fill the larger pan with hot water until it is 1/3 full. Bake tomalito for 1/2 to 2 hours or until it is firm in the center. Let it sit covered for an additional ten minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings

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