Chili and Cornbread

Today was a busy day for me. I have my menu planned out for the month, and was thankful tonight's meal was chili since I could just throw everything together and let it simmer for a couple hours while I finished my baking. I have several chili recipes that I use, but I like the simplicity and little kick of this one. I tend to use a little less meat than most people so please add the amount you prefer.

For this recipe I brown my ground beef (I use about a 1/2 pound but you may want to add more). If there is much grease I drain it off and then add 1/2 a diced onion. After the onion softens I add my seasonings... 1 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 a teaspoon of garlic salt, and 4 tablespoons of chili powder. I mix it together with my meat and onions then add 2 1/2 cups of tomato sauce (or I'll puree stewed tomatoes), and add 1 or 2 (depending on how thick or soupy I want it) cans of Rotel tomatoes with green chiles. I then add beans (at least 2 15 oz. cans bean of your choice). I used what I had on hand which was black beans and pinto beans. I also like to toss in about 1-2 cups of corn.

While my chili is simmering I make my cornbread. I prefer a sweet cornbread with a cake-like texture, similar to Marie Calendars restaurant, so I go with...

1 cup cornmeal

3 cups flour

1 1/3 cups of sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup oil

1/3 cup of melted butter

2 tablespoons of honey

4 eggs, beaten

and 2 1/2 cups of whole milk

Baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes... sometimes a little longer.