Beef & Sausage Chile and Cornbread

I made this scrumptious version of chile for our camping trip and it was enjoyed by all of us... not hard to make and cooks in only 45 minutes. I cooked up some cornbread muffins from those little inexpensive Jiffy box mixes and they turned out great. The recipe came from a Cook this not that cookbook but I changed a few things and here's how I made it...

Chile

ingredients

• 1 Tbsp canola oil

• 2 medium white onions, chopped

• 2 large cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

• 1/4 cup chili powder

• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef

• 1/2 lb hot breakfast sausage

• 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

• 12 oz low sodium beef broth

• 1 Tbsp chopped chipotle in adobo sauce

• 28 oz whole tomatoes

• 15 oz white cannelini beans

• 15 oz pinto beans

• S & P

• Hot sauce

• Toppings:  diced avocado, cilantro, red onion, shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, green bell peppers - basically whatever you want!!!

directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cumin, oregano, chili powder, cinnamon and cook for 3 minutes, stirring.

2. Add the meats and tomato paste and stir until the meat is cooked through. Add the bay leaf, cocoa powder, broth, chipotle and tomatoes (break them apart with your hands before adding to the pot). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. 

3. Add the beans and season to taste with S&P. If you like it hotter add a few dashes of hot sauce and/or cayenne. Cook for 10 minutes until beans are warmed through. 

Serve with cornbread. You can make this a day or two ahead of time and omit the beans. When ready to cook, reheat and add the beans so they don't lose their texture and fall apart.

This will make 6 servings.

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Cook This Not That.