Follow Through

It has been forever since I have posted anything new. And before I fill you in on our adventures (and boy have we had some adventures!), I will begin with a promise. When I started this here little blog, I promised you one of my fave, easy, inexpensive, and pretty fantastic pantry meals. And here it is!!

Chili Cornbread Bake

So simple, one skillet. Versatile. CHEAP! This meal honestly comes in at about five bucks. It is an easy, "Oh Crap! I didn't plan anything for dinner!" meal, provided that you remember to keep your pantry stocked.

I like to use a green bell pepper and some chopped onion. Now, if you have no idea how to chop an onion or a bell pepper, then you best be heading over here. Ree (yeah we are totally on a first name basis now, more on that later!) has some great tutorials on some basic stuff that we could all use a new perspective on.



Time to gather up our items! You will need the cored and diced bell pepper and about 1/2 cup diced onion. If you don't have these on hand, or don't like them, Don't Use Them! See how versatile this is already? You will also need 3/4 - 1 pound of ground beef (or turkey if you are funny that way), 1 - 15.5 oz can of chili beans (which is pinto beans in a sauce), 1 - 8.5 oz box of corn muffin mix (yeah that jiffy stuff! Remember when it was only 25 cents a box? Well it isn't anymore, but it is still pretty dang cheap.), 2 eggs, oh and 1/4 cup of water.



Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Grab your favorite trusty (maybe slightly rusty) cast iron skillet, look the other way and put a tablespoon of butter. Look back and add about a tablespoon of olive oil.



Heaven in a pan!

Toss in your veggies if using. If you aren't using them, then there isn't even really a need for the butter and oil step, Duh!



Cook these on up for about five minutes until they look all lovely and make your heart sing. And then take this:


What? You don't take silly pictures with your ground beef as the middle of a sunflower? No? Okay, moving on.

Throw your ground beef (or turkey if you are a sissy) into the skillet, add a little kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper (because that's how I roll) and cook until browned and lovely. Remember to break apart as you are cooking, we like it smooth.



When its all good and cooked, add the beans. Stir and cook a few minutes to heat them all the way through.



Remove the skillet from the heat, or if you are lazy like me, just turn it off the heat and move quickly. Add 2 Tablespoons of the dry corn muffin mix to the bean/beef mixture and stir it around.



The muffin mix thickens the meat mixture and makes it look all sorts of lovely. See?




Dump the remaining corn muffin mix into a bowl, add the 2 eggs and 1/4 cup of water and mix to combine. Slowly, pour the muffin mix over the chili mixture in the skillet trying your best to cover it all. I know you can do it! And then add a twist or six of black pepper because it looks pretty that way! Oh and I love pepper. Pepper can do no wrong. It's true.



Bake in your (preheated) 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and firm to the touch. You know, like cornbread-ish.



Now, don't get me wrong this dish is amazingly simple and delicious all on it's own. I mean look at this (slightly blurry picture):



But my Big Kid likes to dress things up. It started with cheese, and evolved to include sour cream. And the Side O Beef? Well, he likes it with a good dose of Tapatio. And we all know that I generally take my advice from them.



Are you hungry now? Well not if you are my crazy Little Red. Then you balk in disgust and say, "NO LIKE!" in your most furious tone. And then you eat this:



Yup, Ramen noodles. If it wasn't for them, she very well might starve.

Happy Eating Homies!