Pork and Black Eyed Pea Chili

From Rachel Ray as seen here:
http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=3033

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound andouille sausage, chopped or crumbled  (* I couldn't find this so we used another type of sausage *)
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2-3 ribs celery from the heart with leafy tops, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock
• One can diced tomatoes or diced tomatoes with mild chiles (14.5-ounces)
• 1 can black-eyed peas (15.5-ounces), rinsed (*I could not find these either so I used a can of mixed beans that included black-eyed peas *)
• 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce, such as Franks Red Hot brand
• A few sprigs thyme, chopped  (* I used dried *)
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika (about a palmful)
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander (about 2/3 palmful)
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 4 toaster corn muffins or 2 split corn muffins, toasted and buttered

Preparation

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil, one turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Add the pork and cook, crumbling, until browned, 2 minutes more. Add the celery, bell pepper, onion, garlic and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the chicken stock, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, hot sauce, thyme, chili powder, paprika and coriander. Bring to a low boil, lower the heat and cook for 10-12 minutes more.

Top the chili with the scallions. Serve with the corn muffins alongside or crumbled over the chili.

This was easy to make and turned out like the recipe said.  The only modification I made was to simmer the chili for a bit longer because it was a bit watery.  I used a cornbread mix to make some muffins to go along with this.

My husband LOVED this.  He wants to have it again soon and took all the leftovers to work with him.  I thought it was really good too.  Miss Almost vegetarian proclaimed it "Ewww" and only ate a few bites.  Neither my husband nor Missy were big fans of the corn muffins.

Mr. Picky started off giving this 2 thumbs down then quickly changed it to 1 thumb down ("but only because of the sausage Mom or it would be 2 thumbs down").  After eating 1 ingredient at a time from the chili and shuddering while he did it, my husband convinced him to try eating a whole spoonful at a time (the threat of no dessert may have helped).  After a few spoonfuls, Mr Picky gave his final review as 1 thumb up (lack of 2 thumbs was due to the celery).  He loved the corn muffins as much as I did.

We will make this again.