Tommaso’s Sinful Delights

I love chipotle peppers.  So I thought, what a great thing to incorporate into my favorite cornbread recipe. The result is a very light, moist bread, with a slight spicy kick and smoky flavour.   I also use honey in this recipe, rather than refined sugar (which I try to stay away from.)

Chipotle Cornbread

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup olive oil
6 TBSP honey
1 1/2 - 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped finely

Preheat oven to 400° F.  Grease a 9″ cast iron skillet or a 9″ round baking pan with butter*.

In a bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, soda and salt.  Stir with a whisk to combine.  In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk, oil and honey.

Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined.  Stir in chopped chipotles.  Pour into greased cast iron skillet and bake for 20 minutes.

Serve warm or room temperature.

*Baking cornbread in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet produces a more flavorful bread.

This is one of my favorite one-pot dishes to make.  It may not be ready in 30 minutes, but its perfectly seasoned without any added sodium.  The smoky, salty sausage gives this dish its flavour.

Caribbean Rice and Peas with Smoked Sausage and Chicken

-2 TBSP olive oil
-2lb smoked sausage (Kielbasa), sliced
-3 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
1 packet sazon (Goya)
1 tsp dried oregano
28 oz tomato sauce
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup brown rice

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan on medium-high.  Brown sausage; remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.  Add cubed chicken and brown.  Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside with sausage.  Return pan to heat.

Add onions, pepper and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes.

Stir in chopped cilantro, oregano and tomato sauce and cook for 3 minutes.

Return the browned sausage and chicken to the pan and add  sazon, peas and rice.  Pour in chicken stock to cover all ingredients.  Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for about 50-60 minutes, or until ricer is tender.