Chili & Cornbread

First up, I decided to make a copy cat "Wendy's Chili" recipe. I LOVE Wendy's chili, so I was pretty excited to try this out. It was super simple, and super YUMMY!! My husband & 2 year old daughter both totally enjoyed it! This is for sure on the "keep!" list! 

2 lbs. fresh ground beef
1 qt. tomato juice
1 (29 oz.) can tomato puree
1 (15 oz.) can red beans, drained
1 medium onion (1 1/2 c.), chopped
1/2 C. celery, diced
1/4 C. green pepper, diced
1/4 C. chili powder (you may want to use less, some people find this is too much)
1 tsp. cumin (if you like real flavor, add more)
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. each: black pepper, oregano, sugar
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

In a frying pan, brown the ground beef; drain. Put the drained beef and the remaining ingredients into a 6-quart pot. Cover the pot; let it simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.

(Wendy's chili recipe found here)

**I didn't use 1/4C chili powder, we used probably 2 tablespoons and I thought that was plenty.**

Next up is the corn bread.

My husband said that his mom always made cornbread to go with chili. Today was her birthday, she would have been 59 years old. Happy Birthday Mom! Since it was her birthday, I found it fitting to have this tonight.

I thought this was just Ok cornbread. It didn't look like the picture on her site. So maybe I messed up somewhere? It was ok, probably won't be making this one anytime soon.
(Cornbread recipe found here)