Cinnamon Rolls and Chili

Posted Wednesday, October 14, 2009, at 9:55 AM

The best cinnamon roll makers live in Bayard. Aunt Bev and Grandma Violet make the bestest cinnamon rolls - from scratch. I needed to put that disclaimer on there right at the start simply because I do. (And it is my blog.:-)

Now, I have attempted in the past to make cinnamon rolls the long way around, I have to be in the right humor for the task and it doesn't come around very often. You all know I am NOT Betty Crocker. Plus they just never quite taste the same as the ones we get from the Panhandle.

However the weather has been in such a fall/winter mode here in the last few days, that I am contemplating what I need to have for supper. I am trying to decide this while I am sitting here typing, drinking my morning caffeine jump start from the super-sized heart coffee mug I use on my Wednesday mornings off . I need to get out the recipe book and see if I have the necessary ingredients. It is more tempting by the minute.

One of my friends proudly announced on her status on FB yesterday that she had made cinnamon rolls. I just added that she needed to have chili, too. Now, after typing that it is like having a craving for something you haven't eaten together in a long time. It has been in my brain since last night and it has even taken over my blog for the day.

Why the combo of cinnamon, sugar and chili is so good on these cold and dreadfully dreary days, beats me. I know as a kid the absolutely best school lunches were the days of chili and cinnamon rolls. The rolls were from scratch and we would have P.E. in the all-purpose room right by the kitchen. The aromas filling the multi-purpose room made it tough to get through whatever activity we were doing. We all knew it was cinnamon roll day and talk about line pushers those days. Everyone wanted to be first in line because somehow we all thought the bigger cinnamon rolls went to the kids in the front of the line. We never got 'seconds' on the rolls. It was always one each. We also always had carrot sticks as well. Isn't it weird what you remember after 40 some years.

Any whoo....the recipe book is out of the cupboard and I found my baking apron. (Yes girls it is the Snoopy Christmas one - haa haa) Oh my... I need an intervention... the pan and measuring cups are out and I only need a couple of things from the store. Oh my.... kitchen here I come ..... I am going in... tablespoons and all.

More from this blogger · Betsy Coolidge

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Yes, Spectre, thank goodness for microwave ovens.

I will admit my baking skills are rusty as are the math skills on trying to get the recipe size reduced since I didn't need three dozen rolls. I miscalculated somewhere. LOL

But the chili slow cooked in the crock pot all day and the cinnamon rolls weren't too bad. Plus I even had carrots... LOL

-- Posted by coolidge on Thu, Oct 15, 2009, at 4:30 PM
I don't know why but you just can't have chili without the cinnamon rolls. I guess it's maybe just the way we were raised. I know that is still a favorite of kids at school. It's kind of like the grilled cheese and tomatoe soup. I guess they just go together.

-- Posted by eajwmom on Sun, Oct 18, 2009, at 12:57 PM
Rumor has it there should be a follow up to this story. :-)

-- Posted by interested_in-law on Mon, Oct 19, 2009, at 12:02 PM
As your Facebook status posting friend, I feel it is my duty to share my recipe. I also had comments that people had never heard of Cinnamon Rolls and Chili? They have never really lived until they experience this dinner!

Happy Baking!

-- Posted by Kearneygirl on Tue, Oct 20, 2009, at 10:49 AM
Realize most High Plains folks consider chili as having lots of beans.

REAL Chili -- NO Beans. At least four pounds of TOUGH beef/venison/buffalo brisket/dark turkey/duck/goose cuts, cubed in 1/4th to 1/2 inch chunks, skillet browned and dumped into the pot with water, strong red wine, [maybe some stout porter], seasoned with cumin, oregano, lemon, two to four of the New Mexico dried chiles in small amounts diced, a little cayenne, jalapeno, paprika, curry, white pepper, fresh ground black pepper.

Add fresh diced tomatoes on a 1-1 ratio with the beef, same with home canned tomato sauce -- simmer about three hours.

Take off the fire, cool and refrigerate 24 hours.

Reheat, with fresh onions and garlic added to taste. Simmer for another hour.

You can adjust the ratios and quantities to taste and to your preference, but for real chili, forget the beans.

All the different chiles and hot spices spread the heat around the taste buds, rather than concentrating on the back of the tongue.

Lemon's acid neutralizes the basic oils of the peppers. If anyone finds the mix too hot, just squeeze some lemon or lime into it, even grapfruit will adjust the spice heat.

Ratios and spices can be adjusted to taste.

-- Posted by HerndonHank on Mon, Nov 9, 2009, at 9:07 PM
HerdonHank,

I may not or ever agree with you on politics and religion, but I agree with you totally on chili. Real chili, that is. Your recipe sounds intriguing and will be at temped by me, but just 1 critique, to complicated. When I think chili, I think being in west Texas, or southern New Mexico, in a covered wagon, where space and weight are a premium. So here is my Texas chili.

Cast iron dutch oven or camp oven. Must never be washed in soap.

1 cup canola oil, (only canola)

1 large onion, diced

6 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped (can be varied)

4 large Anaheim chilies (poblanos if scared of head) diced

8 Serrano chilies (delete if heat is a problem)

Place dutch oven in top of glowing charcoals and 1/3 up the side.

Allow oil to heat, add vegetable ingredients

Meat, use the cheap stuff, cube it 1/2". Dried meats work great.

Once onions translucent add meat

Add 2 tablespoons of ground cumin (try avoiding chili powders)

Add 1 tablespoon salt (more if needed)

6 pack of the cheapest raunchiest well aged beer.

Only takes 30 minutes of boiling time

Spoon off grease and oil if desired

Enjoy

-- Posted by Hugh Jassle on Sun, Nov 29, 2009, at 6:39 PM

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