November Comfort Foods

Here in Nebraska we get to enjoy all the sweaty humid bone-melting heat of a deep South summer, and winters not unlike those of our Canuck neighbors to the north, and if we're very very lucky, some nice weather come springs and autumns. It rarely is moderate, either blowing a gale or still; basements flooding, or a drought; AC on to bring it down to 80 in the house, or furnaces blazing away.

It is now beginning to get chilly and that means comfort food, Nebraska style. When our kids were in the local parochial school system, they'd come home several times a year saying they'd had "chili and cinnamon rolls", not a combination I would have ever thought of for sure. To me a cinnamon roll is Sunday brunch or maybe Saturday special breakfast treat, but in my PNW-raised world, it was confined rather rigidly to the breakfast menu. Just about everyone I know who went to school (public or parocial) in Nebraska says the same thing. The meal of chili and cinnamon rolls isn't just something we all have because we like it. It's also a reminder of childhood and simpler times. It is comfort food!

Swoof's Chili

1 eye of round roast (any cut will do, longer cooking negates the need for a tender piece of meat from the start) -

cut into small cubes

1 large onion - chopped

2 yellow chili peppers - diced

2 fresno peppers - diced

1 large bell pepper - diced

2 tbsp cumin

4 cloves garlic - minced

2 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp salt

1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - chopped

1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 large cans of diced tomatoes

1/2 bottle of good beer, preferably brown ale or a decent lager like Sam Adams

Saute all peppers and onions over medium heat in a little oil while browning the beef in a separate pan. Add beef, chipotle peppers and sauce, beer and tomatoes to pepper and onions and add seasonings. Bring to boil and then simmer for awhile. Put it all in a crockpot and cook it as long as you'd like. The beef gets more tender the longer you cook it. You may add a can of pinto or kidney beans if you wish. (Beans optional.)

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Apparently the Miller & Paines cinnamon roll recipe is still a secret, so here's a little touch of why finding it would be a good thing.

And, from Moms Who Think, 2 great cinnamon roll recipes, ready to go!

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