black bean chili with chocolate and coconut

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of judging my first chili cook-off with my friend Cassie (from Bake Your Day). And while it was a blast, I have one piece of advice for anyone who ever judges:

Take small bites! Oh my goodness.

I don’t know if I have ever been so full in my life. But at least the chili was fantastic! Amongst the many creative recipes that night was a vegetarian chili served with chocolate chips and toasted coconut. (You can also make this vegan with dark chocolate chips.) I have always loved adding a little cocoa powder into my chili for depth, but the extra cocoa, chocolate chips and sweet coconut on top took this to a whole new level. Brilliant flavor combination, especially with some smoky chipotles mixed into the chili. Slightly sweet, but still oh-so-savory.

So here is my attempt to recreate it homemade! I thought it turned out pretty well. I opted to let mine cook on the stovetop for about 2 hours, but next time I think I will throw it in the slow cooker and save a step. Either way, this is a great one!

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chicken enchilada cornbread pie

You all know my obsession with chicken enchiladas.

And from your emails, I know that many of you seem to have obsessions with cornbread.

So for one of my recipes for Tablespoon this month, we decided to combine the two and create a new one-pan meal — Chicken Enchilada Cornbread Pie!

It takes all of the goodness of your favorite chicken enchilada filling and tops it with a simple and delicious cornbread topping. This also becomes a super-speedy twist on enchiladas, since you don’t have to roll up all of the individual tortillas. Just top the filling with your cornbread batter, pop it in the oven, and this delicious meal will be ready to go before you can say Chicken Enchilada Cornbread Pie! ;)

Check out Tablespoon for the recipe!

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