quinn's place

talk about jalapeño love.

i made this because my coworker had a boatload of peppers growing in her yard and she gave me a bunch o' jalapeños and a few pasilla peppers, too. pete and i went down to her house one weekend to pick her hops that she had growing in her yard that she didn't want.

double scooooore.

pete is out back brewing beer right this minute! and i'm just reminiscing on this cozy chili and cornbread combo of yesterweekends...

now that it's september first, and it rained today, and i saw like one leaf fall from a tree...it's practically fall and i can make all the cozy comfort foods i want.

speaking of beeeeer, this here chili is made with some beer, and also goes great with beer on the sidelines.

and how!

this grilled corn and grilled bell peppers were lying around from

taco night

we had that friday night. things like chili are so wonderful to make when you've got a bunch of random veggies and cans of things you need to clear out of the kitchen.

i get such satisfaction out of using all the food i buy or somehow putting it all to good use. throwing stuff out is so irritatingggggg, man. but it happens all the time.

so, make yourself a big pot o' chili and have yourself a win-win-win kitchen situation on your hands.

[the third win is having oodles of leftover chili to eat for lunch and/or dinner the next few days.]

cornbread in a cast iron skillet is just so much more exciting and rustic than in your lousy ol' run-of-the-mill baking pan. ha! what a snob! totally kidding...i would make cornbread in a pan. i would make cornbread with a man named dan. i would forever make cornbread across the land.

i just think the skillet looks cute in photos. obvi. oh and also, heating the oil in the pan before putting the batter in makes the sides of the cornbread get all crispy and delicious while baking. so it ain't all for looks. pete taught me that. i wish i could add a video of him talking about foods that "get all criiiiisssspppyyyyy." he's real passionate about crisp.

chili is easy! throw all the stuff in there and let it simmer and jive.

this is my grandma's super duper old dutch oven. i love it and love the color. and love my grandma.

the chili will look like this with the tomatoes and beer still simmering. extra soupy. just gotta wait it out.

and now, look. all iz ready to eat.

pac man cornbread, for ya?

i totally ate this on a muggy mid-august day and was sweating my face off and wondering what the hell i was doing suffering in the summer heat for chili. now that i revisit the photos, i can't wait to make all sorts of versions of cozy chilis and cornbreads this fall and winterrrrrr.

and, to boot, this is perfectly easy to make if you have people coming over. crowd pleaser!

[i don't understand the phrase "to boot," but i say it all the time. what is that about?! it always makes me think of brittany murphy in some movie where she says it. rip. rip., britt.]

now i would like to watch clueless with this chili on a rainy dayyyyeeee, please.

"i not a mexican!"

love that lucy. she's the best.

Jalapeño Cornbread and Three Bean Jalapeño Chili

6-8 servings of chili

1 skillet of cornbread

3-Bean Jalapeño Chili

Ingredients:

1 red onion, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup seeded and chopped fresh jalapeño
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
6-12 oz. light beer (I used Rainier)
2 fully-cooked chicken sausages (I use these ones from Trader Joe's. Best flava.)
1 can red beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can black beans
fresh yellow corn
chopped bell pepper (I had grilled bell peppers and corn left over from taco toppings)

You can really just add anything you have that you like that would go well in a chili. Yes meat, no meat...whateva! It's all good.

Instructions-

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a heat-proof stove top dutch oven or stock pot on medium heat. Add both chopped onions to the oil and sautée for a few minutes just until they begin to soften. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and beer and heat on medium-high until the liquid begins to slightly boil. Add the remainder of the ingredients and any spices you'd like. Stir and reduce heat. Let the chili simmer on medium-low for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until mixture has thickened to the consistency of..... CHILI!

Serve with plain Greek yogurt or sour cream and chopped green onion.

Jalapeño Cornbread

[Recipe adapted from

Simply Recipes

]

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 stick (4 TB) melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup seeded and chopped jalapeño
1/2 cup grated monterey jack cheese or cheddar cheese (or both!)
fresh yellow corn

Instructions-

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil in a skillet at 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. In separate bowl, mix yogurt, milk, and egg together. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold together with a spoon.

Add chopped jalapeños, shredded cheese, melted butter, and yellow corn kernels. Mix just until combined.

Carefully remove the skillet from the oven, making sure there is not too much oil before adding the cornbread batter to the skillet. Smooth the batter with a spatula or spoon and place back into the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Let skillet cool for 5-10 minutes. It's hot hot hot! Cut into slices and serve with butter. Enjoy!