For my family cornbread was a staple food. It was served with beans and potatoes, with fish, for holidays, at parties and often just as a snack. It was always served with a bowl of chili. There was no question that chili and cornbread were meant to go together. If anyone had suggested to me as a kid that you could just bake the chili right in to the cornbread, I would have called them crazy.
Yet here I am today, telling all of you that you can do just that. Not only am I telling you that you can do it. I’m telling you that you should do it, and you should do it as soon as you get to the recipe below. It might just be a life altering experience for you.
I don’t say that lightly. The dish pictured above and below these words has changed my perception of a dish I’ve known and loved all my life. It has opened new possibilities to me in very much the same way that Martin Yan, Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse or Alton Brown ever did. It twisted my “normal” on its ear… And that, my friends is a very good thing.
It also opened my kids up to something new. I’m not going to lie when I say that there was a fair amount of resistance to trying this dish. At one point there were cries of “I’d rather go hungry.” Thankfully it never came to that. Once they took a bite, it was all over. They loved it, and I think your family will too.
Have you ever had a dish that changed the way you thought about an ingredient? If so, did it change for the better? I’d love o hear about it, so drop a comment below.
Now get your oven ready. It’s time for some vittles!
Chili Stuffed Cornbread
Ingredients
For the Chili:
For the Cornbread:
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8 Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 671Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 963mgCarbohydrates: 85gFiber: 7gSugar: 11gProtein: 32g
What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:
I made the batch pictured with a doubled recipe for cornbread. It was, needless to say, way too much cornbread! The recipe above reflects my mistake and should yield something that will feed a family easily, with leftovers, but not be so much food that any has to be discarded.
Links to other recipes like this:
- Potato Stuffed Cornbread, from eCurry
- Manly-Man Stuffed Cornbread, by Chef Emeril Lagasse
I love cornbread and it really is the only thing that should ever accompany chili. This pie looks fantastic! I can’t imagine why your kids wouldn’t want to eat it!
@Joanne,
It was new… They had 2nds once I got them to try it, so it’s a sure winner now!
Instead of the pan, put it into muffin form. You have to be careful not to overcook or it gets too hard, but when its just right….. You will catch yourself eating about a dozen and wanting more.