Chili & Cornbread

When the weather gets cold, I tend to want something warm, filling and comforting for dinner. Chili seems to be a perfect fit for that! I think the first time I made chili was with Jenny: we bought ground beef, a variety of beans, canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. Jenny also added celery (not my favorite), but when you top it all off with sourcream, cheese and green onions, who cares? It's all good.

For the last couple of weeks I've been thinking of making chili, but the time wasn't on my side: too much to do, and not enough time to cook. Finally, over the weekend Anna and I went shopping and bought ingredients for chili. I decided to do a little twist: bake cornbread right on top of the chili!

Chili & Cornbread

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
16 ounces mild Italian sausage
chili powder
cumin powder
cayenne powder
oregano
1 pound 13 ounce can pinto beans
1 pound 13 ounce can black beans
14.5 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
28 ounce can canned tomatoes
1 Jiffy mix for cornbread
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 can corn
1/2 poblano pepper, finely minced

Directions
1) In a large pot heat the oil, add garlic and onions and cook for 4-6 minutes.
2) Add sausage and let it brown, breaking off the pieces.
3) Add the spices and let them cook with the vegetables and sausage for a few minutes.
4) Add the beans and tomatoes, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for about an hour.
5) Combine the Jiffy mix with the egg, oil, corn, and poblano pepper.
6) Put some of the chili (making sure not to add too much liquid) on the bottom of a Pyrex dish. Top with the cornbread mixture.
7) Bake at a preheated 400 oven for 40-60 minutes.
8) Scoop some of the chili/cornbread mixture onto a plate and serve with sourcream, cheese, green onions and salsa!

Chili

up close
topped with cornbread mixture

out of the oven
ready for dinner!

one more shot