Chili Cornbread Casserole

Is it hot?  Is it cold?  Our weather keeps flip flopping like crazy around here.  Like one day, it’s 45 and the next, it’s 78.  So, this means that I never know what to make for dinner during this transitional time.  Casserole?  Grilled food?  Soup?  Who knows?  I give up.  On this night, I made good old-fashioned chili, poured it into a baking dish and topped it with cornbread mix.  After a few minutes, a casserole came out of my oven and dinner was done.  Easy.

This recipe serves four.

Shopping List
1 pound of ground beef (or ground turkey)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Salt and Pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
1 (15 oz) can Ranch Style Beans
1 (8.5 oz) box of cornbread mix (plus the ingredients to prepare it)
Sour cream, chopped green onions and/or shredded cheese to garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease (I used Pam) an 8×8 baking dish.  Set aside.

Next, in a large pot over medium-high heat, brown your ground beef in a drizzle of EVOO.  Add in a nice pinch of salt and pepper.  Once browned and crumbly, stir in your chopped onion and saute a few minutes.  Add in another little pinch of S&P.  After that, stir in your chili powder, tomato paste and beans.  Reduce heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, per your cornbread package directions, prepare your cornbread batter.  Set aside.

Pour your chili mixture down into your prepared baking dish and then spread your cornbread batter across the top.  (It doesn’t spread easily, so I just kind of added dollops down over the top and it bakes up nice together.)

Pop this in the oven and bake about 20 minutes (or until the cornbread is nice and set).

Remove from oven and let stand a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Garnish with sour cream, chopped green onions and/or cheese.

Just an easy switch up from your basic chili night.  xo