Grape What?!

Grape nuts. Love 'em. Hate 'em. Don't know 'em. I've never actually ate a bowl of grape nuts for my morning breakfast before, but recently bought them for a recipe. Every Christmas and birthday, I make my dad homemade ice cream. Usually it's unique flavors from the ice cream stand we routinely go to in the summer called Dr. Davis', aka Doc Davis'. Some of the flavors i replicate include indian pudding, graham cracker, and for the first time this past Christmas, Grape nut. The sounds of it are reminiscent of an "old-time" favorite (if you get my drift) grape nut pudding. I tried it once, and think I'll wait a few 50 years to try it again.

Dr. Davis' Ice Cream in Pepperell, MA

Anyway, having bought a whole box of the crunchy stuff, and only needing about 1/2 a cup, lead me to some creative uses for it. I discovered that when it is reconstituted, grape nuts resemble fine ground beef. It sounds weird but, I tried it as a beef replacer in a taco recipe, and it was amazing! I'll post a recipe later on. I thought, well if it works in tacos..what else could it be good in?? A million possibilities came to mind of recipes to try, but I settled on chili, mostly because it is -2 degrees outside and seemed fitting for the weather. I made the chili this afternoon, and was impressed by the stick to your ribs filling factor this chili had. The grape nuts don't add any flavor, but to the unknown eye it could easily be mistaken for ground beef. It reminds me of the chili often put on chili dogs, but with added veggies and beans. I didn't have any cornmeal to make the all fitting cornbread side, but made some easy Bisquick Heart smart biscuits instead. I don't have a picture tutorial for this recipe, but I feel the final product and my vows are reason enough to make this recipe

Grape nut Chili:
Serves about 8-1 cup servings


1 tsp oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
1 1/2 T Chili powder
1 tsp Ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes, no salt added
1-28 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup grape nut cereal
1/2-3/4 cup water

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add carrots, onion, and garlic, and saute until tender. About 5 minutes.
Stir in spices and cook another 30 seconds.
Add beans, tomatoes, grape nuts, and about 1/2 cup water.
Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add additional water and/or spices to desired taste and texture.

I like to use cinnamon in a lot of my recipes. I feel it gives just a little sweetness to a dish, and I'm a cinnamon fanatic. I also liked using crushed tomatoes in this recipe. It gave the chili a thicker consistency which I am a fan of. Feel free to swap diced tomatoes instead.

Look out for new recipes using grape nuts, since I still have about half a box left! Enjoy this chili on a cold day like today!

What's your favorite thing to eat on a cold day?