Baby It's Cold Outside!

There is nothing that I hate more than cold weather, well maybe being sick, but that is not the case today! It is the coldest that it has been here in a while in North Carolina, and I felt really badly about my hubby having to go off to work at 6 AM this morning. He was getting dressed and I just looked at him having to put on two pairs of long john pants, a tank top, a thermal shirt, and THEN his Dickies brand work pants and his bright yellow work shirt. Made me feel just a little bad that I get to stay at home with our little one while he goes out in this cold weather.
They are also calling for snow tonight, which is a really rare thing in our area. (I live in the county just above the Outer Banks). My husband works in Norfolk, VA. I am sure many of you are more familiar with that area...maybe. Anyway, I told him that I would have chili in the crockpot when he got home, and you should have seen the look on his face! It was like that was going to be the highlight of his day. So I have to make it good! And of course, in this house, we always have cornbread with our chili. I wanted to share with you all a recipe for some really great chili and then also let you in on a southern secret for cornbread.



Makes 8 servings.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH
2 pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 package McCormick® Slow Cookers Chili Seasoning Mix
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (16 ounces each) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) tomato sauce

1. Brown ground beef or turkey in large skillet on medium-high heat. Drain fat.2. Place cooked beef, Seasoning Mix, tomatoes, beans and tomato sauce in slow cooker. Stir until well mixed. Cover.3. Cook 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH. Stir before serving.

Slow Cooker Tip: For best results, do not remove cover during cooking.

Okay where it says diced tomatoes, I was given a little hint of something different to use to make the chili just all that much better. Use Italian flavored diced tomatoes! It made all the difference. I did not have to add much more spice like I was used to having to because this gave the chili a great little ummpphh! I also don't use the tomato paste or sauce in mine, I use water. But to each their own! Still turns out great either way, my hubby just thinks it tastes too "tomato-ey". His words, not mine.

And for cornbread we use...JIFFY!

I add about two to three tablespoons of sugar to the mix to make it oh-so-sweet. That is a good old southern secret that my Daddy taught me when I was younger....and we don't add real corn to ours. My husband thinks that is utterly disgusting lol

So here is your cold day fix....pull out your crock pot and make some chili and cornbread :)