What I decided on was chili. It is November and all! I made this recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking some time back and while it was good, I wanted to lean it up a bit. Plus, I am not a huge fan of chicken in chili, I think chili should be beef (or something of the sorts). I also hold a firm belief that you cannot have chili without corn muffins. So...since this is "clean" we won't be using one of those box mixes that most people turn to these days.
Here is how it looks:
Chili:
1 pound lean natural ground beef
1 pound lean natural ground turkey
1 onion, diced
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed (you can use kidney bean here but I have a deep hatred for kidney bean so I use black beans. I recommend them highly but if you love kidney beans in your chili, go right ahead)
1 (15-ounce) can white northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) bag frozen corn
1 (15-ounce) can organic fire roasted tomatoes (whole can)
1 (15-ounce) can organic diced tomatoes (whole can)
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated
1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce (watch sodium and wheat content on these!)
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white pepper (this will add a little heat so go easy if you are sensitive)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 cups chicken broth - homemade or organic
Corn Muffins:
1 - 1/4 C whole wheat flour
3/4 C corn meal
1/4 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 C rice milk
1/4 canola oil
2 egg whites (I recommend organic brown eggs, you'll be amazed how much better they taste!)
Directions:
Brown ground beef and turkey in a large stock pot with a little EVOO. When meat is browned, add onion and shredded sweet potato, combined cook for 2 - 3 minutes and allow onion and potato to soften. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, brown mustard and corn first. Then add spices and honey. This will allow all the ingredients to blend without caking together. Stir together throughly, reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 45 - 60 minutes. Low and slow is the key to great chili!
While the chili is cooking, preheat over to 400 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Stir in mixture of milk, egg whites and oil slowly just until the dry mixers is wet and easily stirred. Line a muffin pan with liners and scope about 1/4 C of corn mixture into each cup. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes depending on your oven. Mine took about 13 minutes.
Verdict:
This chili is excellent! The cinnamon and spicy mustard add this interesting and complex flavor unlike other chilis I have had in the past. The roomie was more than satisfied and had no complaints when I told him Sunday was going to be a leftover night. I also taught him the art of crumbling your corn muffin directly into the chili. Definitely the way to go! I will say however that it could use more heat for me. I have been on the hunt for chipotle chili powder and am having trouble finding it locally. I think using that in place of, or in addition to, the regular chili powder will really kick it up.
Final thought...next time I am going to experiment with using coconut oil and honey versus canola oil and sugar for the corn muffins. I will let you know how it goes :)
Enjoy!
