It doesn't really feel like fall with these 75-80 degree temps, but that doesn't mean we can't start cooking like the season is here! To welcome in the cooler weather and darker evenings, the Girls Team wanted to try a different version of a classic fall favorite - chili. We found this recipe from Rachael Ray for Chorizo & Vegetable Chili in Cheesy Polenta Bowls. Having never cooked with polenta before, this was definitely going to be a cooking challenge!
Ingredients ready to go.
Chopped zucchini.
Red bell pepper.
Cooking the polenta. Behind the scenes confession: I didn't read the directions (this is actually a life problem I seem to be having lately...) and so I poured in all of the polenta in the box when the recipe only called for half. I diluted it with a few cups of water, but we had twice as much polenta as chili. Whoops.
While I was busy messing up the polenta, my mom was making the chili.
Gobs of polenta. Easy to cook though!
Chili boiling.
When the chili and polenta are ready to serve, we made the polenta into a bowl shape, leaving room for the chili.
Plated and ready to eat!
If you read and follow directions without the recent focus issues I seem to be having, this recipe is very simple to follow. Even though it takes some prep time, and the polenta was an unfamiliar ingredient, we managed to cook this in about 30 minutes. True to Rachael Ray's promise! The chili was good, but nothing too different or unique from other chili recipes. The chorizo did give it a nice kick, but nothing that was too much for our taste buds to handle. The polenta was the real star of this show. It was delicious and balanced the spice of the chili perfectly. In our non-scientific explanation, imagine a tamale, but instead of the filling being in the middle of the tamale, it's poured over the outside. GOOD right?! Exactly.
We will definitely be making this recipe again. Not only was it delicious, but it was a relatively quick post-work day meal. And the warm polenta and hot chili warmed us up...even though it was 75 degrees and sunny outside.
So much for this polar vortex! :)
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