New good recipes

September as I have said before is full of recipes that are new to us. We were so excited about trying them. So far they have all been  a bust. Not horrible but not worth the effort. We finally found two meals (we liked the fried pickles though they take  awhile but that isn't a meal) that we like so hopefully our luck has turned the corner.

I am going to post one today and the other tomorrow.

 This recipe needs a preface. I am not a huge fan of chili. I can handle about one bowl and that is it. Brian ends up eating all of the left overs and I can go for awhile without eating it. I understand the attraction to it and sometimes forget that I don't like it but am quickly reminded that I don't.

That being said....I did like this recipe and will actually share the leftovers with Brian.

Chili Pot Pie with Polenta Crust

Recipe says it take 2 hours to make....I would budget for 3. Chili is VERY similar to tomato sauce, cooking it longer never hurts and well I was having a hard time with the timing of it. I started it around 7 and we weren't eating until about 9:15.

Ingredients:

Chili:
-2 teaspoons olive oil
-1 1/2 lbs well trimmed boneless beef chuck cut into bite sized chunks (ours started out at over 3 lbs but after trimming it was just about right. I actually think we could have gotten a bigger piece of meat and be fine)
-Salt
-1 medium chopped onion
-1 medium red pepper (I had green so I used green..it was fine)
-3 cloves crushed garlic
-1 serrano or jalapeno chile (recipe says seeded, so that's what I did and mine was pretty big. Not very spicy so if you like your chili spicy you may want to keep the seeds in)
-2 tablespoons tomato paste
-3 tablespoons chili powder
-1 tablespoons ground cumin
-1 (28ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice
-2 cans (15-19 ounce) red kidney beans rinsed and drained

Polenta Crust (what ended up being the hardest part)
-2 cups low fat (1%) milk (we used soy as that is all we have)
-1 1/2 cups cornmeal
-4 1/2 cups boiling water
Salt

Directions:

To prepare chili:

1) In 12 inch skillet, with a broiler safe handle* (if not broiler safe wrap handle in double thickness of foil for broiling in oven late), heat oil on medium-high heat until hot

*All the food would fit precariously in a 12 inch skillet. I used my stock pot and then transferred it to a dutch oven to put in the oven since messes and I normally are best friends, I don't need anything that makes making a mess any easier.

2) Sprinkle beef with 1/4 teaspoon salt
3) Add beef to skillet in 2 batches and cook 4 to 5 minutes per batch or until beef is browned on all sides stirring occasionally and adding more oil if necessary
4) Transfer beef to bowl once it is browned
5) After all beef is browned, add onion, pepper, garlic, and serrano chile to same skillet and cook on medium 8 minutes or until all vegetables are lightly browned and tender, stirring occassionally
6) Stir in tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly
7) Return beef and any juices in bowl to skillet
8) Add tomatoes with their juice stirring and breaking up tomatoes with the side of spoon, heat to boiling on medium high
9) Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer an 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
10) Add beans and cook chili uncovered for 15 minutes longer or until meat is tender
11) After adding beans to chili prepare the polenta

To prepare the polenta (this should be easy, I don't know why it was hard)

1) In a microwaveable safe deep 4 quart bowl or casserole, combine milk, cornmeal and 3/4 teaspoon salt until blended.
2) Whisk in boiling water
3) Cook in microwave on high 12 to 15 minutes (be careful it doesnt bubble over)
4) After first 5 minutes of cooking, whisk vigorously until smooth (mixture will be lumpy at first)
5) Stir 2 more times during cooking

Putting everything together:

1) While polenta is cooking, preheat broiler
2) When chili is done skim off the fat (there wasn't any when ours was done)
3) Spread polenta evenly over chili in skillet (chili was in a dutch oven at this point)
4) Place skillet in broiler 6 to 8 inches away from source of heat and broil polenta 3 to 4 minutes or lightly browned, rotating skillet if necessary for even browning. (Ours never really browned and I left it in for about 15 minutes)
5) Let pot pie stand 10 minutes for easier serving, makes about 9 cups

~Good Housekeeping

Very good, Brian isn't sure why it is "pot pie". I told him about the polenta but it had melted into the chili when I took it out of the dutch oven. Will definitely make this again but won't do it when I am running late and starving :)