Sweet & Savory ~~ Painted Desert Chili

Painted Desert Chili will not disappoint even if you don't live in the desert!  It makes enough to almost feed Coxey's Army, so this is the perfect recipe for Sunday Dinner or your upcoming Super Bowl Party. Serve it with green-chile cornbread and butter. Double yummy!


QUART JAR INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp. dried onion flakes
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 2 Tbsp. cumin
• 2 Tbsp. paprika
• 2 Tbsp. yellow cornmeal
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 2 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 cup dried pinto beans
• 1/4 cup small dried white beans
• 1/2 cup small dried black beans
• 1 cup dried kidney beans

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS:

• 16-20 cups water
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 - 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes
• 1 - 12 oz. can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 48 oz. tomato juice or V-8
• 2  lbs. ground beef

DIRECTIONS:

• Brown ground beef with diced onion in skillet.  Drain and add to 12 quart stock pot along with all other ingredients.
• Bring to a boil; simmer for 3-5 hours or until beans are fully cooked.
• You may need to experiment with the total amount of water you add to the recipe.  Some folks prefer a chili that sticks to the wall while others desire it with much more broth.  I happen to fall into the second camp.  In addition, if you have extra liquid, the cornbread can be added to the bowl of chili.
• The beans do not need to be soaked prior to cooking; however, it's a good idea to rinse them in a colander before adding to your stock pot.

Happy Dining, stay warm, & enjoy your chili!

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Sweet & Savory Thursday - Sheila's Super Bowl Wings

No Super Bowl Spread (not the football game point spread) is complete without some scrumptious chicken wings which seem to disappear faster than chips, dips, or a platter of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!

Without exaggeration, my husband and I polished off the above platter of wings in about ten minutes flat when watching a prior Super Bowl, so trust me when I tell you that these are beyond finger lickin’ good!

Since the Super Bowl game is not played until the afternoon, you will have plenty of time to prepare the marinade and marry it up with the plain chicken wings in your refrigerator for about 3 hours prior to cooking them.

Sheila's Super Bowl Chicken Wings

The following recipe is for a 3 lb bag of plain chicken wings:

• 6  Tbsp. olive oil
• 2  Tsp. chili powder
• 1  Tbsp. hot sauce (I prefer Cajun Sunshine brand)
• ¼ - ½  Tsp. cayenne pepper (depending upon how hot you like your wings!)
• 2  Tbsp. honey
• 4  Tbsp. fresh lime juice  (save zest from limes to sprinkle onto cooked wings, if desired)
• 8  cloves of minced garlic
• 2  Tsp. kosher salt, optional
• 3/4  cup flour
• 3  cups plain panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Mix together in a bowl:  only 5 tbsp. of the olive oil, only 1 tsp. of the chili powder, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, honey, lime juice, garlic, and only 1 tsp. of the salt.

Place chicken wings in a glass container and cover with the well mixed marinade.  Cover pan with lid or plastic food wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, place a cooling rack on top of baking sheet, and spray with cooking spray.

Optional method – use a meatball cooking pan.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, bread crumbs, and remaining salt and chili powder.

Coat the chicken wings completely in the mixture and place on top of cooling rack or meatball cooking rack.

Drizzle remaining olive oil over top of wings.

Bake wings for 20 minutes.  Turn and bake for another 15 minutes or until wings are cooked completely and turn golden brown.

Place on serving platter and sprinkle with lime zest if desired.

***** As I have experimented with this recipe in the past, I came to the conclusion that if I did not sprinkle the cooked wings with lime zest or drizzle additional lime juice over them, I could taste the garlic and cayenne flavors.  Too much lime can overpower the taste of everything which is not a problem if you are a big lime fan.

Enjoy!  J

If you do happen to prepare this recipe for your Super Bowl Sunday, I would love to hear back from you as to any suggestions that you might have.

Happy Reading, Cooking & Eating!

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