January 11, 2013

What to do with leftover, leftover chili that won't go away


About a week ago, my husband made black bean chili and sweet potato casserole* in the slow cooker. It was his first time using the slow cooker, and he followed a recipe from Robin Robertson's book, Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker. It was spicy and tasty, but I've found that Robertson's serving sizes are very generous, and even though I love having leftovers, after a certain amount of chili chomping, I just couldn't face another bowl. We were going to freeze the leftover leftovers, but never got to it, when thankfully I remembered a favorite recipe from the olden days. I can't remember what cookbook it was from though I have a vague memory of the author and cover, but maybe it will come to me as I type.

The dish was made with leftover chili — we certainly had no shortage of that — and was topped with a recipe for cornbread. Cornbread. Last year, as you may or may not recall, I went gluten-free to deal with some digestive issues that had been plaguing me for as long as I can remember. (As you might assume from the first paragraph that my memory isn't all that long, I assure you my memory on this subject is quite intact.) While I am no longer 100% gluten-free, my cooking and baking still are, and I eat only small amounts of gluten elsewhere. Cooking GF didn't require much of a change, but baking — ha! Baking at first seemed impossible, and I ruined a lot of things, but after following recipes and getting a feel for GF flours, I've been able to actually bake a few successful items just playing in the kitchen. I didn't use a specific recipe** for my first attempt at GF cornbread, but it was a success, and it turned the chili into a whole new dish that we enthusiastically enjoyed eating. Even the new leftovers were appreciated. (Yes, I mean it.)


You can use any kind of cornbread — GF or regular — to make this. Spread the hot, juicy beans in a casserole dish, and spread a recipe of cornbread batter over the top. The batter should be soft enough to spread easily, so if the batter you're using is stiff, add some extra liquid. Bake in a pre-heated 425˚ F oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cornbread tests done.

*The recipe calls for thinly sliced sweet potatoes, which were unappealing to me in the finished chili. Maybe it's because my husband doesn't slice things "thinly." In any case, I prefer the potatoes to be in a small dice, which may not work well in the slow cooker. To remedy the potato issue, I chopped up the potatoes before I placed the chili in the casserole. I did it right in the storage dish without removing the slices and without apparent harm to the beans. If I'd thought of it, I also would have added some frozen corn before placing the chili into the baking dish.

**Cornbread recipes usually have one cup of cornmeal and one cup of flour. For the cup of flour I used millet flour, almond flour and a small amount of tapioca starch. (I find I'm using less and less starch in baking.) I didn't use xanthan gum. There was also sweetener, baking powder and baking soda. The liquid ingredients included almond milk, soy yoghurt, and oil.

26 comments:

  1. Is this a variation on corn pone? I've only had it once, but it was GOOD!

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    1. Yes! Thank you. The recipe I used to make was called Tennessee Corn Pone and it appeared in "Laural's Kitchen." I haven't seen the recipe in at least 30 years so I don't know how close I was to replicating it, but it was delicious, just as I remember. (The original recipe wasn't vegan.)

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  2. I have so many leftovers that won't go away! Creative way to use yours up.

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    1. Thanks. Sometimes it seems there are leftovers for things I don't even remember making!

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  3. This sounds great! I love a good recipe remix, and I have definitely ended up with way more chili than I can ever eat.

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    1. This used to be a favorite recipe of our back in "the olden days." Funny how a memory will surface when you least expect it.

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  4. oooh i need my friend to talk to you! she is totally GF and really wants to try vegetarianism but has been struggling a bit. I am helping the best i can on the vegetarian side, but i don't have much knowledge of GF foods, i bet you could give her lots of pointers!

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    1. I don't consider myself an expert on GF, but I learned a lot last year. Gluten lurks in the most unexpected places, and you have to check labels a lot! There are lots of Gf and vegan blogs out there. Have a look at Cakemaker to the stars, and gluten-free vegan. I, of course, would be happy to share what I know. There are even more GF vegetarian blogs, if vegan isn't an issue.

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  5. Wow--the chili recipe must have been huge! Leftovers of your leftovers?! That is crazy talk, lol :-) Your repurposed leftovers look amazing!

    Courtney

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    1. It almost seemed like the chili was growing in the fridge overnight! Seriously large amount.

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  6. We make a similar dish, a Happy Herbivore recipe called Cajun Cornbread Casserole. However, it doesn't use leftover chili.

    Yours sounds really good and I'm glad it turned out for you!

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    1. I just hope I can remember to make it again — in a more timely fashion. :)

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  7. We are big black bean chilli eaters. I have used leftovers to make black bean burgers and refried beans as well.

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  8. Chili is a very poor house guest. Sometimes you just have to kick it to the curb, or it will never leave.

    Looks like you salvaged the friendship with some fantastic cornbread. Good thinking. :)

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    1. Thank you for appreciating my thinking. It was either think of something fast, or as you said, "kick it to the curb."

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  9. I laughed cheerfully when I saw your title, because I, too, seem to be in chili hell currently. I love this idea, and I ran out of cornbread earlier this week, so I think it's time to make another batch with the never-ending chili enclosed somehow. Thanks for the rescue!

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    1. There's something about chili that makes it hard not to make too much! And it always seems like such a good idea to have leftovers — until the third bowl or so. Try the cornbread topping and see what you think.

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  10. Good idea, and my husband would particularly like this. Hope you've been well; off to catch up on some more of your posts!

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    1. My husband loved it, and I can tell you he was really tired of the chili. :)

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  11. Ah yes! Highly approved over here. I was going to make some butterbean stew this week and serve it with polenta fries, but you've just given me a much much better idea!

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    1. I don't know, Joey, polenta fries sound pretty good to me. In fact, you may have given me an idea for tonight's dinner.

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  12. Great job using up the leftover chili! I have leftovers in the fridge that need to be tossed, wished I remembered earlier to just freeze it. But I always think I'll get around to eating it but never do. :-(

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    1. It always seems so much easier to think about heating up leftovers when they aren't frozen — until they have to be tossed. Then, of course it seems better to have frozen them. I never get it right.

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  13. Ahh, what memories! One of the first ever vegan things I learned to cook was Dreena Burton's "Sweet potato lentil chilli" (which we ate ALL THE TIME) alongside cornbread! What a nice twist for gf people!

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    1. Dreena's recipes always sound so appealing! I like to give her cookbooks to aspiring vegans for encouragement.

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