Especially when it saves you an extra pan. I got this rather amazing cookbook from my sister several years ago when I was still in my Vegan Period (somewhat like Picasso's Blue Period but with food) and I swear everything I made from it was delicious. I used to lie and tell my friends it wasn't vegan because apparently vegan food is scary and makes you fart. This IS chili and therefore it will very likely make you fart, but it isn't scary and it IS delicious and incredibly easy. So I highly recommend it.
Side note: I got too excited and forgot to take pictures until the end. But I am going to trust you can imagine imagine it all or base it off my descriptions.
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
1 vegetable of your choice, chopped (I used a zucchini, you can use a pepper, mushrooms, butternut squash, really anything you want. I've tried them all and they're all equally great.)
Olive oil or cooking spray
1 1/2 cups mock ground beef (you can use real beef if you want to go the non-vegetarian route, but I've found that Boca fake ground beef tastes amazing and works very well in this recipe)
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes with juice or three large juicy tomatoes chopped
1 19-oz can beans of your choice, I like black beans personally
1 cup frozen corn (fresh if it's in season)
1 hot chili pepper chopped
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 Tb chili powder
2 Tb honey
cumin, salt, and garlic powder to taste
Cornbread topping:
1 1/4 cup milk
1 Tb apple cider vinegar (rice vinegar works too)
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tb sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb oil
Directions:
Most of the effort of this recipe is in the chopping before you even start cooking. Once that's all ready, saute the onion and chopped vegetable of your choice in oil or cooking spray until the union is translucent and the vegetable is halfway cooked. If you're using squash you might want to cook it a little before throwing it in with the onion or chop it into fairly small pieces to begin with. Then add the remainder of the chili ingredients and simmer for 5-10 minutes. At this point you can turn the oven on to 400 degrees.
I don't usually measure anything in this recipe which is weird for me because I love things to be exact. But with chili you really just have to go with the flow. Think about what you'll like to taste and put more or less of that in it. I like spicy so I buy bigger chili peppers, if you don't like spicy avoid it. I also just throw in random amount of cocoa powder, but it adds a really nice flavor so try not to leave it out if you can help it.
Once the chili is simmering you can turn to the cornbread. Pour the milk in a small bowl and add the vinegar. Let it sit while you mix the rest of the dry ingredients. The vinegar will curdle the milk and allows you to avoid using an egg (see, it's egg-less for those with allergies!). Mix the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Sometimes I add in a dash of cayenne pepper or nutmeg if I want the cornbread to have a little extra flavor. Then add in the oil (it doesn't have to be exact, you just need a little fat to make it work) and the milk/vinegar mixture and stir until just combined.
Pour the chili into a baking dish. Size may vary depending on how much vegetable you used. If you use a lot it might take up a 9x13 inch pan, I made a smaller 9x9 inch pan. But I also like the cornbread thicker. Once the chili is in the pan pour the cornbread mixture on top. If the batter is thick you can spoon it on top and smooth it out. Then bake for about 15-20 minutes until the cornbread is nice and golden.
Now invite all your vegetarian hating friends over and let them drool while you enjoy a nice southern-inspired meal.
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