Week 14 Final Meal Assignment: Cornbread, Chili, and Brownies

Week 14 Final Meal Assignment: Cornbread, Chili, and Brownies

Cornbread

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17891/golden-sweet-cornbread/print/?recipeType=Recipe&servings=12&isMetric=false1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 1/3 cup white sugar

2 teaspoon salt

7 teaspoons baking powder

2 egg

2 cup milk

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a 13x9 inch round cake pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Chili

https://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/guinness-chili/b976ecf1-a4d0-4775-af3c-0f6606132ed2

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1/2 cup onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

2 bottles Guinness stout

28 oz diced tomatoes

15 oz kidney beans, drained

15 oz black beans, drained

1 pinch brown sugar

Salt and pepper

1. Set to saute mode on the Instant pot, add oil and let heat until shimmering. Then add ground sirloin and brown well. Cook for 6-7 minutes until meat is well browned.

2. Add onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, cayenne powder, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until veggies soften, 2-3 minutes.

3. Add Guinness beer to the pot along with diced tomatoes and tomato juices from the can. Bring to a slight simmer. Add drained beans to the pot. Add a pinch of brown sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

4.  Cover chili and cook at high pressure for 25 minutes. Enjoy!

Brownies

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/10549/best-brownies/print/?recipeType=Recipe&servings=16&isMetric=false

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Frosting:
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 13x9 pan.



2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.



3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.



4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons softened butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Stir until smooth. Frost brownies while they are still warm.

The Final Product:

For this project, I chose the theme of a "Southwest Dinner" consisting of cornbread, chili, and brownies. I had planned to do this theme because I have heard that chili and cornbread are two very straightforward food items that I can incorporate into my regular food planning. I hadn't originally planned to make brownies, how ever I have read online that they are a good pairing with chili. I chose the cornbread and brownies recipes since they had great reviews online and looked more simple than I expected. For the chili, I used the ingredients listed in the recipe linked above, but I changed the cooking method. One of my favorite parts of cooking is using my Instant Pot pressure cooker, so I used that instead of a traditional pot over the stove. I looked at a variety of Instant Pot chili recipes online to find a good cook time. I surprisingly had a lot of the ingredients I needed, but I was able to find the rest of them at my local Target. However, for the chili I had to substitute the shallot for onion and sirloin for beef because the store did not have those original items.

Overall, this was probably my favorite food blog assignment because I thought all parts turned out great but still had room for improvement. Additionally, I never felt like the process was too difficult for me. The cornbread tasted great, but since I like cornbread moist I could have baked for less time. I think the same goes for the brownies. As for the chili, I actually think I could have added less Guinness. While it is my favorite beer, I do not think adding two bottles helped with the texture. I typically like my chili chunky and with little liquid, so one bottle could have been enough. I think that the chili is probably the most nutritionally balanced, since it has a good amount of chili but also has lots of vegetables and beans. The cornbread and brownies are probably not very healthy (especially the brownies) but they are a nice treat anyways. Together, I think these three items complete a meal that I would make again in the future or serve for a guest.