I’m not a chili kind of girl. It’s about the most perfect food for health conscious poor people, so you’d think I’d be up for it. Sadly, I can manage one serving and then spend the rest of the week trying to convince Ryan that we’re still sharing a meal if he eats leftover chili while I eat a peanut butter and jam sandwich.
Apparently, I do not have this disdain for white chili. Doesn’t this make me a racist? Is there some type of KKK movement for food adaptation? Are there large stock pots with bonfires burning on someones front lawn right now? Should I stop this line of questioning because I’m being glib about a sad part of human history? “Yes.”
Instead of going through all the trouble of writing it out, I’m going to link the the recipe I adapted. In terms of substitutions, just assume that I’m poor and I cheaped out on most of the meat. If I remember correctly, I used the broth and meat from a carcass of a chicken I was going to make soup out of. Whenever I imagine using the chicken carcass I can’t help seeing myself in a bonnet – pioneer style. Is that weird? Is it a little bit hot? I also used dried beans and fresh herbs.
So, if you’re interested in the recipe go here. There’s also some drink recipes on the site which are worth your time.
I will include the recipe for cornmeal dumplings. I found this in the Joy of Cooking when I realized that I needed a backup carb in case I hated this chili. I love the idea of a dumpling so much because it uses the steam of the stew/soup to cook the bread. This is nothing short of the most magical efficiency I’ve ever stumbled across in cooking. If I’m cooking a dish in a pot, you can be sure I’ve got plans for dumplings.
Ingredients
- Something hot and wet on the stove (yes, I did just go there)
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cold butter
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup of milk
Method
- Combine dry ingredients.
- Cut into butter if you’re fancy and have a pastry blender. Chop up butter and mix in if you’re poor like me.
- Combine egg and milk.
- Gently fold into dry ingredients.
- Spoon mixture onto the top of your simmering liquid. Dip spoon in liquid each time to prevent sticking.
- Once all the dough is used up, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid.
- Let the steam do its magic for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove and serve. Open the lid before then if you hate dumpings and want to ruin dinner.
Tags: chicken, chili, cornmeal, dumplings, frugal, recipe, white bean
