Skeptical

That was how I considered myself tonight when I was assembling this dish. I will explain why later. As a whole, this dinner sounded tasty. After all, we like chili in this house (see previous bazillion chili posts) and we also like cornbread (see previous billion cornbread posts). So, I suppose if you put the two together they should work right? Well, in theory, yes. However, I had a disaster on my hands a year ago when I tried doing the two together in the crockpot.

This was a very easy recipe to prepare. You pretty much just brown the beef and dump the rest of the ingredients. That's it. Mix the cornbread, spoon everything into a dish and bake. I didn't have to buy many things to make this dish. Just the salsa and the cornbread mix. Everything else would be considered a pantry staple in my house which I had on hand.

This took a grand total of 45 minutes from start to finish to make. Considering you have to mix the cornbread and brown the beef and bake it, I would say that's a success!

Here comes the skepticism part. If you read the directions, it says to put the cornbread mix in the casserole dish first, and then the beef mix in the middle. I had to ask my husband if he agreed with this because I thought for sure the cornbread would all run towards the center of the dish and it would end up a big soupy mess. I almost put the beef mixture in first and then the cornbread on top, but I decided to follow the recipe (imagine that!). To my surprise, it worked! It baked up just as the recipe said it would and my husband was nice when he only managed a "told you so".

This is a good recipe and will probably be one I make again. After all, we eat chili and cornbread at least a dozen times a year. This way, you only need to bake it in one pan!

Chili Casserole with Cornbread
from: Pillsbury The Best of Classic Cookbooks

1 pound lean ground beef
1 jar (16 oz) chunky style salsa
1 can (15.5 oz) dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 package (6.5-8.5 oz) cornbread mix
milk (if required by mix)
margarine (if required by mix)
egg (if required by mix)
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon sliced green onions, optional

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in salsa, kidney beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin. Cook 3-4 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, prepare cornbread as directed on package using milk, and if required, margarine and egg. Spoon cornbread batter around outside edge of ungreased 2-quart casserole dish. Spoon hot beef mixture into center (casserole will be full).

3. Bake for 18 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; bake an additional 4 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and cornbread is deep golden brown. Just before serving, sprinkle with green onions.