Spicy Chili with Cornbread Waffles

First off, I've got to apologize for that pathetic little photo up there. The truth is, this recipe didn't last long enough for me to take a picture, so this is Foodnetwork.com's tiny stock photo. I made this last night as a treat for Mr. JY and me. I haven't been cooking much lately since we've been busy, busy bees working on our new house, and Mr. JY had a long meeting yesterday and got home late. I thought he might want some nice comfort food. This recipe was a huge hit. Ladies, if you want your man to fall in love with you all over again, whip up this easy chili and waffles and you'll have him wrapped around your little finger. The chili was spicy but not too spicy; the little bits of corn provided a sweet burst of flavor that echoed the cornbread waffle. The addition of sour cream and cheese made it downright sinful and oh, so comforting after a long autumn work day.

This recipe is from Paula Deen (of course). Anything so sinfully delicious and comforting would be. I don't make her recipes all too often since they are so dangerous, but you could easily slim this down if you wanted to by omitting the waffles (heaven forbid), using fat free or lowfat sour cream to garnish, omitting the cheese.... but why on earth would you want to?

The recipe on Food Network's website is here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/cornmeal-waffles-with-spicy-chili-recipe/index.html

You might notice I changed the name of the recipe on my blog and switched the order around. That's simply because I think the chili is the true star of this recipe and I think it's a little counter-intuitive to list the waffle recipe first. I made the waffles while the chili was simmering, so it makes sense to me to just go ahead and make the chili first, and then make the waffles. But to each her own, I suppose. Paula does, after all, have her own shows, restaurants, and megabucks cooking empire and I just have this little food blog here no one reads, so why would you listen to me?

Anyway, here's the recipe. :)

Paula Deen's Spicy Chili with Cornbread Waffles

Spicy Chili Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground chuck
1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

2 (15-ounce) cans ranch-style beans (Note: I could not find these at Target, so I just used 2 15oz cans of seasoned pinto beans and it turned out just fine.)

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (15-ounce) can niblet corn, drained

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown ground chuck, until beef is crumbly. Stir in onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in beans, tomato sauce, corn, diced tomatoes, and green chiles. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally. Yield: 10 to 12 servings

While the chili is simmering, make your waffles. Now, if you don't have a waffle maker, you could certainly just make corn pancakes in a skillet. Or cornbread muffins. But trust me, if you DO own a waffle maker (and this recipe might just be grounds to go out and buy one if you don't) you are gonna want to make these waffles.

Before I list Paula's recipe for the waffles, I have a confession to make........

I cheated.

I used Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix to make the waffles. I know, I know. But it really saved me time. And I have an obsession with Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. It makes the best sweet cornbread. Until I taste homemade that's better, I won't back down from that. So, if you need to save some time, use the Jiffy box. It's okay. No one will know. Just follow the directions on the box.

But for you pretentious people that would like to make it homemade, here's the recipe:

Cornmeal Waffles Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs

Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add milk, oil, and eggs; stirring until smooth. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron and bake in batches. Set aside and keep warm.

Serve waffles topped with heaping spoonfuls of Spicy Chili. Garnish with shredded Cheddar, sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro (unless you hate cilantro like I do, then by all means leave it out).

Trust me when I say you have got to try this recipe. As Paula would say, it's truly "out of this world"!

The Crepe Cake Revisted

I wanted to post today to make a correction to my former recipe for the luscious delight you see in the picture above. This, my friends, is my quickie version of a crepe cake. I made it last night for my small group, and in doing so realized that the recipe I posted here was a little bit incorrect. So, I thought I'd repost.

Also, I'd like to take the opportunity to tell you how much I truly love this "cake." It is so easy and looks so impressive. Anyone can make this. There's simply no way you can mess it up! It looks like you spent hours on it, when in reality, whipping this baby up took me under 1 hour.

So, without further ado, I give you:

Easy 20 Layer Crepe Cake

Yes, I am changing the name of the recipe. Why? Because I realize that this simple recipe can be used as a base for many, many creations. Just get creative! You can make tons of variations of this cake. We'll talk more about that after the basic recipe.

Basic Recipe:

Crepes

- 20 basic crepes (I used store bought Melissa's brand, but you could make your own, of course)

Mascarpone Cream

- 2 8oz containers mascarpone cheese

- 1 8oz block cream cheese

- 1 3.4oz box instant vanilla pudding mix

- 4 tsp. vanilla extract*

- 3/4 c. milk

- 1/4 c. powdered sugar (or more to taste)

To assemble the cake, all you do is layer it with about 1/8 c. mascarpone cream for each layer(and whatever other ingredients you'd like) and garnish with powdered sugar, fruit, chocolate, whatever blows your skirt up!

Now, for the varations. For the one in the picture, I made it a Chocolate Hazelnut 20 Layer Crepe Cake by spreading every third layer with Nutella (aka the food of the gods). I garnished it with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, whipped cream, and strawberries. Last night, the cake I made for my small group became a Strawberry Chocolate Hazelnut crepe cake because I added sliced strawberries in each Nutella layer.

To make a variation, all you have to do is add things to the cream (like different extracts instead of vanilla, switch out the vanilla pudding for chocolate and add cocoa to make a chocolate cream) and use different ingredients for layering. Here are three variations I came up with on my own. Can you think of any others?

Citrus Crepe Cake: Omit the vanilla and add orange, lemon, or lime extract to taste. You could even add in some zest for extra flavor. Then, layer orange, lemon, or lime curd on every third layer.

Mocha Crepe Cake: Add a bit of cocoa powder, substitute brewed coffee or espresso for the milk, and substitute chocolate pudding mix for the vanilla.

Bananas Foster Crepe Cake: Add a bit of rum or rum extract to the cream, use banana pudding mix instead of the vanilla, and alternate with layers of caramel and bananas. Yum!

As you can see, the possibilities are endless!

Halloween Costume Woes

Mr. JY and I are having a lot of trouble coming up with a Halloween costume this year. Halloween is one of my most favorite holidays; I have loved it since I was a little girl and usually think about and plan out my costumes months ahead of time, full of anticipation. To a girl like me with a big imagination, Halloween was always the best: forget all of that spooky stuff, you get to dress up in a fantastic costume, hang out with your friends, and collect candy for a night. What could be better?

Not everyone shares my sentiments about Halloween, especially Mr. JY. He sees dressing up as nothing but a hassle. I am sure many men share this opinion. As a child, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 8 so it's easy to see why Halloween has never been his favorite. Tons of candy is not very good for a diabetic kid.

However, enivtably, every year we are invited to some sort of Halloween costume party, to my delight and his dismay.

This year, I am totally at a loss to come up with a costume we'd both like to dress up in.

Originally, due to my love of all things vintage and especially the WWII era, I wanted to recreate this:

The famous end of WWII nurse-sailor kiss. However, I don't think Mr. JY is all too thrilled about dressing up in a sailor costume.

Now, I'm leaning towards maybe dressing up as Elvis and Priscilla Presley or Sonny and Cher.

Anyone else have any creative and fun Halloween couples costume ideas? I'm at a loss, here, people.

The Sweet 100

I got this list from CakeSpy.com, and they got it from someone else. But I thought it was too fun not to do!

1) Copy this list into your site, including the instructions!
2) Bold all of the sweets you've eaten--or make them a different type color.
3) Cross out any of them that you'd never ever eat. (I'm gonna make mine italic).
4) Consider anything that is not bold or crossed out your "To Do" List. (Maybe I will make some of these on Sunday afternoons when I bake!)


1. Red Velvet Cake
2. Princess Torte
3. Whoopie Pie
4. Apple Pie either topped or baked with sharp cheddar
5. Beignet
6. Baklava
7. Black and white cookie
8. Seven Layer Bar (also known as the Magic Bar or Hello Dolly bars)
9. Fried Fruit pie (sometimes called hand pies)
10. Kringle
11. Just-fried (still hot) doughnut
12. Scone with clotted cream
13. Betty, Grunt, Slump, Buckle or Pandowdy
14. Halvah
15. Macarons
16. Banana pudding with nilla wafers
17. Bubble tea (with tapioca "pearls")
18. Dixie Cup
19. Rice Krispie treats
20. Alfajores
21. Blondies
22. Croquembouche
23. Girl Scout cookies
24. Moon cake
25. Candy Apple
26. Baked Alaska
27. Brooklyn Egg Cream
28. Nanaimo bar
29. Baba au rhum
30. King Cake
31. Sachertorte
32. Pavlova
33. Tres Leches Cake
34. Trifle
35. Shoofly Pie
36. Key Lime Pie (made with real key lime)
37. Panna Cotta
38. New York Cheesecake
39. Napoleon / mille-fueille
40. Russian Tea Cake / Mexican Wedding Cake
41. Anzac biscuits
42. Pizzelle
43. Kolache
44. Buckeyes
45. Malasadas
46. Moon Pie
47. Dutch baby
48. Boston Cream Pie
49. Homemade chocolate chip cookies
50. Pralines
51. Gooey butter cake
52. Rusks
53. Daifuku
54. Green tea cake or cookies
55. Cupcakes from a cupcake shop
56. Crème brûlée
57. Some sort of deep fried fair food (twinkie, candy bar, cupcake)
58. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
59. Jelly Roll
60. Pop Tarts
61. Charlotte Russe
62. An "upside down" dessert (Pineapple upside down cake or Tarte Tatin)
63. Hummingbird Cake
64. Jell-O from a mold
65. Black forest cake
66. Mock Apple Pie (Ritz Cracker Pie)
67. Kulfi
68. Linzer torte
69. Churro
70. Stollen
71. Angel Food Cake
72. Mincemeat pie
73. Concha
74. Opera Cake
75. Sfogliatelle / Lobster tail
76. Pain au chocolat
77. A piece of Gingerbread House
78. Cassata
79. Cannoli
80. Rainbow cookies
81. Religieuse
82. Petits fours
83. Chocolate Souffle
84. Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake)
85. Rugelach
86. Hamenstashen
87. Homemade marshmallows
88. Rigo Janci
89. Pie or cake made with candy bar flavors (Snickers pie, Reeses pie, etc)
90. Divinity
91. Coke or Cola cake
92. Gateau Basque
93. S'mores
94. Figgy Pudding
95. Bananas foster or other flaming dessert
96. Joe Froggers
97. Sables
98. Millionaire's Shortbread
99. Animal crackers
100. Basbousa

An Update on the Life of the JYs and Upcoming Recipes!

Well, it looks like my "Brief Hiatus" hasn't been so brief. Mr. JY and I have been busy, busy, busy, which makes for a boring blog. It's been a challenge just getting dinner on the table in time for us to eat before flying out the door, much less take pictures and blog about it. I have been cooking and baking a lot.

For now, Mr. JY and I have been focused on our new house. We're really excited to be moving in to our first home together (in just a couple of weeks!), putting our stamp on it, and making it truly ours. I have dreams of tile backsplashes, shiny new appliances, and Anthropologie linens dancing in my head.

I will, however, have many new recipes coming up, including:

- A flopped Nutella cookie recipe. It could've been brilliance in the making, but not-so!
- A long awaited review of one of Mr. JY and I's favorite Nashville restaurant discoveries.
- Paula Deen's Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding. I still can't believe I'm making this super untraditional, almost sacreligious pudding recipe!
- Mr. JY's Birthday Dinner. Oh man. That should be good!

All coming soon!! Stay tuned!!

Easy, No Cook "Cheat" Desserts

Since I've been rather absent lately, I'm going to give you two recipes for the price of one! These are two "cheat" dessert recipes I came up with when I was in a pinch. As I mentioned before, Mr. JY, and I have been really busy lately house hunting and then purchasing our first home, so it's times like these I turn to super easy recipes like these. They are by no means fancy and some foodies might be appalled at them.... but, to me, they were beautiful, impressive, and delicious enough to serve to guests.

Easy Sugar Cookie Fruit Tarts

1 package of a dozen bakery sugar cookies (I got mine from Target)
1 tub of your favorite brand of cream cheese frosting (or, feel free to make your favorite homemade recipe)
An assortment of your favorite fruits


Procedure:

All you've got to do is first wash and slice up your fruit. I used fresh peaches, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. But whatever you like and looks good in the produce section would work. Just make sure you dry the fruit well before putting it on the cookies later.Next, very liberally ice your cookies with that delicious cream cheese frosting, and decorate your cookies with the fruit any ole way you'd like. And you're done! Put 'em on a pretty plate, and no one will be the wiser. They'll think you've been baking all day. You could also do some pretty neat variations of this recipe with lemon curd or chocolate ganache.... but that's another day and another entry.

Next up, we have.....

20 Layer Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake

20 basic crepes (store bought - I recommend Melissa's brand - or homemade, using your favorite recipe) 1 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese (softened) 2 - 8 oz containers mascarpone cheese 1 - 3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding mix 3/4 cup milk 1-2 tsp vanilla extract (you could also use almond or orange for a nice variation) 1 container Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread Strawberries, whipped cream, & powdered sugar for garnish (optional) First, make your vanilla mascarpone cream by mixing up the softened cream cheese, vanilla pudding mix, vanilla extract, milk, and mascarpone cheese in a mixer until well combined. Then, get out your jar of Nutella (can we say... YUM?) and start layering! Slap a crepe down on a pretty dish, and slather on a real good amount of your vanilla mascarpone cream. Top with another crepe, more cream, and then, on your third layer, spread it with a good amount of Nutella. I said a good amount, don't skimp. That stuff is heavenly. Keep repeating with this method, every third layer Nutella, until you have all 20 layers done. I topped mine with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, and decorated it with strawberries and whipped cream, but you could do anything that blows your skirt up - drizzle it with chocolate ganache, whatever you like! This dessert looks totally impressive and you can take all the credit.

Brief Hiatus

So, as you can probably tell, I have been on a brief hiatus from updating this blog. I have tons of posts just waiting in my queue to update here! Mr. JY and I have just bought our first home, so that has been taking up pretty much all of our spare time. It was quite the whirlwind, but has been a positive and exiciting experience so far. In the very near future I am looking forward to updating this blog more often and sharing more recipes and stories with you.