Sunday, November 01, 2015

Welcome, November!


I can't be more thrilled that it's finally November. With November comes cooler weather, crisp days, and snow (if I'm lucky). But, we've been stuck in Louisiana and Mississippi for the last week which has meant warm humid days, tornado warnings, and tons of rain. Thankfully, I was able to keep the truck at my preferred temperature range, somewhere between 63 and 68 degrees.

After looking at the non-stop rain for the last day and a half, I decided we needed to have chili. It just looked like that kind of rainy, dreary, inside, eatin' chili kind of day. But I didn't have any ground beef. Actually, I wasn't sure what I had, so I gave a little snoop around and found the only meat I had was a package of Italian sausage in the freezer.

No problem. I'd defrost that and create sausage chili.  I'd never made sausage chili before, but how different can it be?

So I threw together a bunch of chili-like ingredients and simmered it on the stove while I made cornbread to accompany it.  Ed loved it, it satisfied my chili craving, and we have leftovers for tomorrow.  Can't beat that.  See my recipe below.

Salena's Sausage Chili


THE INGREDIENTS
1 package Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage (or any sausage you prefer)
1 can Red Kidney Beans
1 can Black Beans
1 can White Northern Beans
1 can (6 oz.) Tomato Paste
1 large Sweet Onion, diced
6 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
2 Teaspoons Cumin
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sour cream (optional)
Cheddar Cheese (optional)

THE PROCESS
1. Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil.  Add onions and garlic, sauté until softened and slightly brown.

2.  Remove sausage from casing and crumble it into the pan with onions and garlic. As it browns, break it up into smaller pieces.

3.  Add can of tomato paste and using the same can, add a can of water.

4.  Add all three cans of beans.

5.  Add all spices.

6.  Cook until bubbling, then lower heat and cook until liquid reduces and chili gets thicker.

7.  While chili is cooking, make cornbread or corn muffins.  I made a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix, adding chopped jalapenos and one can of corn niblets and baked it in a 8” square pan.

8.  Enjoy!

I didn't have any sour cream or shredded cheddar, so I used a dollop of mascarpone cheese instead - it was amazing! - and I cut a slice of cheddar cheese into little shreds and sprinkled it on top.

Boy, the things you can do when you have a craving.

Get the printable recipe HERE.  



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2014: November In North Carolina

2013: Another Visitor Preying On Us
2012: Escaping The Southwest
2011:
There Can Only Be One
2010: The Doors. Italian Style.
2009: Please Leaf My Pinecone Alone
2008: A Call To Arms
2007: Where Defacing Rocks Are A Work Of Art
2006: One Idiot At A Time
2005: Find Your Spot

5 comments:

Belledog said...

Wow that sounds delish. Love chili with cinnamon in it. Healthy too.

Hope the rain lets up. Tis gorgeous (although 70s) here in NoVA. Leaves very slightly beyond peak, but still beautiful and colorful. Has been a wonderful fall.

Belledog said...

Also: am thinking you don't drain your canned beans, since you don't mention it in the recipe?

Last, I checked out your Dodge Inn tagline entries, out of curiosity. What good writing, Salena. You evoked Frank's business and times so well. Eating a Dodge Inn steak with onions (and "big potatoes") goes on the bucket list. Sorry the actual restaurant is no longer around.

The Daily Rant said...

BELLEDOG: I actually did drain the beans - not dry, just really the extra liquid because I didn't want it too watery. But I didn't rinse them. Normally, I wouldn't drain them because I would normally make a bigger batch. But in my skillet, it would've been to much volume.

I'm glad you liked the Dodge Inn posts - there are SO many stories from that place. Book worthy, I would say. The steak, the onions (omg) and the potatoes were just the best. The restaurant is still there, just not in operation, and I can't tell you how many times I fantasize about winning the lottery and buying it, bringing it back to its old glory! :)

ExpatKen said...

We tried your recipe tonight and it was great...thanks for sharing it. We'll add it to our recipe binder.

The Daily Rant said...

KEN: Glad you tried it and liked it! I know there are a million recipes for a million things out there on the internet, but sometimes I just really like to share what I make in the truck. Thanks for the comment!