Tasty Tuesday–Cheesy Cornbread Waffles and Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.

It’s been hot here this week. Like mid-90s hot. Not when I want to use the oven or the stove particularly. Enter the slow cooker. And the waffle maker. I’m learning that my waffle maker is good for more than just plain waffles.

I came across this idea on Pinterest, and thought I’d give it a whirl. I also took a chicken chili recipe from an online cookbook and modified for mild-food-me. Tim said it was still flavorful enough, but I think he ended up adding Tabasco :) So here’s…

Cheesy Cornbread Waffles and Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

{Ingredients}

FOR THE CHILI:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 1 can black or pinto beans
• 2 cans petite diced tomatoes
• 8 ounces tomato paste
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• extra cheese for topping later

FOR THE WAFFLES:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup club soda
• 1/3 cup canola oil

{Directions}

• Put everything for chili in slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
• For the waffles, mix first 5 ingredients in a large bowl (I used my KitchenAid). Stir in cheese. Combine eggs and next 3 ingredients; gently stir into dry ingredients just until blended.
• Pour the recommended amount into your waffle maker. Mine does well with 1/2 cup batter. It will be thin when you pour it in, don’t worry! Cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Once waffle is done, you can eat right away, or freeze on cookie sheet and store in gallon ziplock bag for later use. If you freeze them, thaw them in the microwave, then pop them in the toaster to get a little crispier before adding the chili.
• Place waffle on your plate, load it up with chili, then add some extra cheese. I used Monterey jack, and Tim used pepper jack, so whatever sounds good to you!

Oh yea, one other bonus about this recipe: both my little boys thought it was amazing! (Kahlen is a super picky, plain food kinda kid, just like I was, so she didn’t like the chili at all. Cornbread waffle: good. Chili: yuck). Another bonus: the chili is really easy to throw together, so I actually got it ready on Monday, froze it, then was able to just dump the bag in the crockpot today without any other prep work. Dinner with less than 10 minutes of prep time today? Yes, please!

~S