Our PA weather is chilling down. Need something to warm up your tummy? Try some homemade chili. So easy; one pot, if you like beans in it this is your recipe. And a little something different; cubes of butternut squash or yam. Yeap yam, it picks up all those spicy flavors, as does butternut squash. Really great with cornbread, I made some fresh southern style using both cornmeal and gf flour, baked them in an 8 ear cast iron corn cub mold and 6 muffins. I used ground beef, but you can use turkey, venison, or use a plant-based ground meat substitute. This is somewhat spicy but not too much, my tummy can no longer handle the really spicy stuff. You can up the spice or tone it down a bit.  Your chili, your choice.

I make a cornbread by Mama Gourmand which is a basic but tasty recipe. Enjoy!

Angie’s Sort of Spicy Chili Con Carne

Ingredients

1 to 1 1/3 lb. ground beef, 90 percent is what I used

Cooking spray

1 medium onion; chopped into ½ cup dice

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium poblano pepper diced (I used half a good sized one as I can’t do spicy so good anymore)

2/3 cup diced green or red bell pepper

3 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. smoked paprika

½ tsp. coriander

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

¼ cup red or white wine (one you would willingly drink!)

roughly 1 and 1/3 cups peeled and cubed yam or butternut squash;

1-2 cups water

1 tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground black pepper (more if you want it)

1 14 oz can large kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 14 oz can small red beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

Spray la arge wide 4 qt. pot with cooking spray, heat and add ground meat. Let brown as you break it up and spread out the meat. After turning it once add the onions. Cook, stirring a lot, until meat isn’t pink. Add minced garlic; stir in, cook 30 seconds. Add all spices, stir well; cook a minute. Add wine, stir, Add crushed tomatoes. Use cup of water to rinse tomato can and add all to pot. Add diced yams and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer on low at least 30 minutes; I cooked mine for more like an hour. I stirred it a lot, at least every 10 minutes taking care to scrape the bottom, so nothing is sticking. I had to go out so I shut it off, put the lid on and restarted it when I returned. It’s flexible that way. Then add kosher salt to taste; I put in 1 tsp. Add the beans. Stir in carefully and cook 15-25 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt, add more ground black pepper if wanted. Honestly it is even better after a good rest in the fridge; the flavors will blend further. So good with corn bread. I didn’t add any toppings; it was just right without any additions, but you can go to town with scallions, grated cheese, or whatever you like. Enjoy!

I strongly suggest you visit her website but here are the ingredients for her delicious Cornbread, ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup Cup4Cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 lg eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup melted butter

Be sure to let your batter rest 5-10 minutes before pouring into a hot baking dish; I have a cast iron 7 ears of corn one and I do 6 muffin tins too; liberally buttered right before you dump in the liquid mix.Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.