What's For Dinner!!

And to think this lovely dish started with me looking at a can of kidney beans...thinking about what I should make for dinner. I followed the recipe on the back of the Bushes Bean can....no additional add-in's or deleting of ingredients.....sometimes I do that. But, not this time. It made a HUGE pan of chili-ha! I should have used my trusty crockpot. Next time.

Could not resist serving this Heartland Chili with a nice little dish of cornbread. Do you make cornbread from scratch or from a box? I am a little partial to Jiffy Cornbread mix since the Jiffy Factory is located in our town. But, sorry Jiffy! I do like homemade, from scratch, cornbread best. I use the recipe off of the Quaker Cornmeal container. Note...this recipe uses a small amount of sugar. If you are use to cornbread mix from a box, homemade will seem...somewhat bland. Remedy...mix some butter and honey together to make a nice spread for your cornbread.
HEARTLAND CHILI

1 pound lean hamburger

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 up green pepper, chopped

Cook all of these together until hamburger is good and done.



Add the following to the cooked ingredients.

2 cans (160z) dark red kidney beans

1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (11 ounce) whole kernel corn, drained

1 can tomato paste

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons chili powder




Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.
When done, sprinkle with 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese.



Other stuff.....this has a very strong tomato taste. It was a little over powering, to me. I tamed the strong flavor with a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar. I think I would have used taco seasoning instead of chili powder. I think my family just likes taco seasoning better than chili powder. Also, since we are in the "growing" season, i would use fresh corn off the cob and slice in tomatoes to replace canned. Ooh..and some sliced black olives would make this so divine.

Enjoy!