Game-day Chilli and Cookies

This past weekend was a big football weekend in our apartment. We are a house divided with 2 UGA and 2 Auburn fans.(Good news though, the Bulldawgs dominated!!) We all have been going about 100 miles a minutes since the beginning of fall so we decided we would  hunker down and watch the game from the comfort of our living room. Since we were going to have friends coming and going I wanted to make something that could just sit on the stove all day and people could eat at their leisure- eureka, CHILLI! The weather here has been crazy and it does not feel like winter has gotten here at all, but luckily this past Saturday was cool and grey so chilli felt like the perfect comfort food. 
This chilli recipe is relatively simple and this is one of those foods where it is best to taste as you go. This way you can adjust the flavours to your preference. I do not like things to be super spicy so I went with a pretty classic chilli flavour profile and let people spice it up as they see fit. This was my first attempt at making chilli and I have to say it was a huge success. I made a giant helping, and there was barely enough left over for 1 lunch the next day! Everyone fixed theirs up a little differently and it was greatly enjoyed by all- a super easy way to feed a big group! Next time I will for sure make some corn bread to go along with it! 

Ingredients:
3 pounds ground chuck
1 can dark kidney beans
1 large white onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 green pepper chopped
1 large can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
black and cayenne pepper(to taste)
salt(add intermittently throughout cooking)
generous amount of chilli powder(I used almost half of my small bottle)


Directions:
-Sauté onion, garlic, and green pepper in olive oil until soft(lightly the coat the bottom of the sauté pan in olive oil)
-Add ground beef and cook until browned
-Drain grease from sauté pan and add contents of pan to large pot and place on stove
-Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste(also refill tomato paste can with water and add to the mix) and finally add all of the spices- then stir stir stir!!!
-Continue to taste and adjust throughout the cooking process
-Cook over low heat for at least 2 hours over low(simmering) heat
-Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and fritos or oyster crackers!

Here are some prep and cooking pics!

 

Compost Cookies:
I decided we would need something sweet to go with the salty/spicy chilli so I decided to try to recreate one of the best cookies I have had recently. Last week a co-worker brought back cookies from momofuku milk bar. I grabbed a compost cookie out of the box, and oh my goodness it was awesome. I am a huge fan of the sweet and salty combo, and this cookie had it all!

Ingredients:(dough recipe borrowed from this site)
2 C plus 2 T flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
12 T butter (1 1/2 sticks) melted and cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 t vanilla extract

Extras:
Chocolate chips
butterscotch chips
pretzels

Ruffles potato chips

(you can add just about anything, so customize it to your taste!)

Directions:

-Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in mediumbowl; set aside.

-Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients;mix until just combined. Stir in all the extra ingredients(chocolate chips, pretzels etc.)

-Take 1/4 C dough and form into a ball.  Break ball in half and place dough on cookie sheet with broken edge facing up. Bake until cookies are set around outer edges start to harden yet centres are still soft and puffy, 10-13 minutes.  Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.

This cookie dough recipe is awesome! I was really happy with how the cookies turned out, but next time I will probably be even more liberal with the add ins- great way to get rid of all the mostly empty bags of snacks in the pantry! ENJOY!