Corniest Corn Muffin and Slow Cooker Beef Chili

Want to hear a corny jokc?

A man walked into the Dr.'s office. In his ear he had a carrot, in his nose an ear of corn, and in his eye a wedge of cucumber. He complained to the Dr. that he wasn't feeling his best. "Well," the Dr. replied, "The trouble is you're not eating properly....."

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

If you're going to make a recipe named "CORNIEST" corn muffin, then you'd better have some corny jokes to go with it.

Like this one: What did the kernel say to the other kernel? My pop's bigger than your pop.

Ooh, boy-that's pretty corny.

Or if you prefer that no one roll their eyes, serve up your corniest corn muffin with a less obnoxious partner, like William Sonoma's Crock Pot chili. Both recipes are part of my Fall Kick Off Menu, which also includes:

Pear and Walnut Salad with Honey Dressing (coming tomorrow)

Spicy Pumpkin Vegetarian Chili

Caramel Apple Wedges (coming soon)

Brown Sugar and Oatmeal Crumbly Apple Bars

Corn bread is particularly delightful baked in a muffin tin, since it provides lots of crispy surface area. Besides having fresh corn kernels in the batter, these are extra corny with a high ratio of cornmeal to flour. Serve these up with loads of honey butter to bring out that natural sweetness.

Money Saving Tips: Cut any corn off a leftover cob for this recipe. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, just put 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar in a 1 cup measure. Pour in milk to the top and let stand for five minutes. If you're out of cornmeal, you can grind popcorn kernels in a wheat grinder or powerful blender to make your own.

Dorie Greenspan's Corniest Corn Muffins

Estimated Cost: $2.00 for 12

Notes: For picky eaters, you might want to make some without corn kernels. Just pour some batter into the tins before you add the corn, and add a bit less corn to the batter to compensate.

1 cup flour (I used half whole wheat)

1 cup cornmeal

6 tablespoons sugar

2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled

3 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen or even canned

Preheat oven to 400. Thanks for the the reminder, Cat!:) Grease a 12 cup capacity muffin tin. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter, oil, egg and yolk. Gently stir wet ingredients into dry just to blend. Stir in the corn kernels. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

William Sonoma's Slow Cooker Chili

The convenience of slow cooker chili is chief among its virtues. In fact, I first made this recipe about five years ago on The Quiet Man's birthday which also happened to be the day that we were running a marathon. How do you host a party (or do anything that requires movement at all) after a 26.2 mile run? I made the chili the night before and stuck the whole crock pot in the fridge, plugged it in the morning, left for the run and came back to scrumptious birthday dinner.

Money Saving Tips: Buy your ground beef in bulk during chili season. (Albertson's and other supermarkets frequently have it on sale for about $2 per lb.) Divide it into 1 lb. portions and freeze it for easy dinners. Cook your own beans from dried for an even cheaper meal.

Slow Cooker Chili, adapted from William's Sonoma

Estimated Cost: $8.00 for 8 large portions

2 lbs. ground beef

3 cloves garlic

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3-4 tablespoons chili powder

3 tablespoons corn meal

1 cup beef stock

2 (14 ounce) cans beans (I use almost any variety I've got on hand.)

In large frying pan, brown the ground beef. Transfer to crock pot with a slotted spoon, leaving behind the fat. Add remaining ingredients to crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with shredded cheese, onions, and sour cream.

Coming Tomorrow: Pear and Walnut Arugula Salad with Honey Dressing