More Yummies: Chili and Sweet Potato Corn Bread

This comfort food recipe is from my friend Emily who doesn't have her own blog. There is nothing like chili and cornbread when the cold wind starts to blow. I love the sound of these recipes as well...7 jalapenos and 10 cloves of garlic. This chili will keep you healthy and happy. And, the sweet potato cornbread is already making my hungry, for real.

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Chili
So this is not the world's most exciting chili, but it's so easy and spicy and perfect. I eat it with fritos if I'm too lazy to make my sweet potato cornbread. The one warning is that it makes like a really big batch, so I usually chop it in half.

1 cup chili powder
3 lbs ground beef or turkey
2 T olive oil
10 cloves of garlic, minced
7 jalepenos, minced
1/2 t salt
1 28-oz can plum tomatoes
1T red wine vinegar
6 cups water
6 cups cooked beans (i used canned chili beans or split black/red/ pinto beans)

Toast chili powder and any other desired spices in a skillet 1-2 minutes. Don't burn! But if you do, apparently nutmeg will take away a little of the burn taste. Set aside. Brown meat with 1 T olive oil. Drain off fat. Add remaining olive oil, onions, garlic, pepeprs and salt. Cool until vegetables are softened, about 6-8 minutes. Remove to a large pot and stir in toasted spices. Cook for a few minutes over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes with juice, vinegar water and beans. Simmer until sauce is reduced, about 1 to 1.5 hours.So good. Gets really spicy, so watch how many seeds you put in.

Sweet Potato Corn Bread from Epicurious
So this is going to be the comfort food that accompanies my comfort food. It's so good. I make it for Thanksgiving every year.

1 1/4 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 1/3 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Pierce sweet potatoes in several places. Microwave on high until tender, turning once, about 12 minutes. Cut open and cool. Mash enough potatoes to yield 1 cup packed (reserve remaining potatoes for another use). Place 1 cup mashed potatoes in large bowl. Whisk in eggs and buttermilk.
Blend cornmeal and next 6 ingredients in processor. Add butter and blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add to egg mixture. Stir just until blended. Transfer to prepared pan.
Bake corn bread until deep golden on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. (Can be made ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature up to 2 days or freeze up to 2 weeks. Thaw at room temperature.)