One of My Favorite Meals -- Chili and Corn Casserole

Growing up I didn't realize that most people put beans in their chili.  We had Cincinnati Style Chili.  Skyline Chili was our gold standard for chili.  Gold Star was a pretty close second.  (Every visit home I make sure to stop by Skyline!)  It wasn't until I was dating my husband that I tried "traditional" meat and bean chili.  I have to admit, I really like it!  While my Cincinnati Style Chili will always have a special place in my heart this "new" chili makes it into my menu rotation fairly frequently.

I don't have an exact recipe and it does change a little bit each time I make it, but this is it essentially.  I love how simple it is!

I love the aroma of chili cooking in the crock pot!

• 1 pound ground meat (I use either turkey or beef)
• 2 cans dark red kidney beans
• 2 cans light red kidney beans
• 2 cans chili beans (Aldi has a super tasty variety!)
• 2 cans black beans
• 1 can tomato paste
• salt to taste  (especially if beans are no sodium)
• a couple of shakes of garlic powder
• a couple of shakes of cumin
• chili powder
• onion

Brown the meat.  I also (drain the grease if its beef and then) throw the onions in for a minute or two.  Add all the ingredients to a crock pot.  Cook on high for a couple of hours or on low for the day.

Corn Casserole is a relatively new food for my little family.  We were hooked the first time we had it!  I also love that this is a one dish casserole--I assemble everything in the baking dish.  It pairs extremely well with the above chili.

• 1 stick of butter or margarine
• 1 can of creamed corn
• 1 can of whole kernel corn
• 1 box of cornbread
• 1 egg
• 8 ounces of sour cream
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter or microwave in your baking dish.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.   Bake at 350 until its not jiggly in the center, about 45-60 minutes.



For my little family these two recipes make enough food for one dinner and a couple of lunches--I love leftovers!

Check out some of the awesome places where I link up every week!

7 Quick Takes

ONE: My absolute favorite pizza is LaRosa's.  Sadly, it can only be found in the Greater Cincinnati area. Happily, their sauce is now sold in local grocery stores.

TWO: Cincinnati style chili is quite a bit different from "normal" chili.  Special ingredients include cinnamon and chocolate.  It is more like a sauce than traditional bean chili.  Also, I didn't even know that beans were considered an integral element to chili by most until I was in college.

THREE: Did you know that when you fly into Cincinnati (CVG) you don't land in Cincinnati?  You don't even land in Ohio.  The airport is located in Kentucky.

FOUR: I am loving this crazy "winter" weather!  We enjoyed some time at the park--with just a light jacket!  Catherine is becoming very independent.  While at the park she managed to climb around on the kiddie section without help--including going up steps and going down slides all by herself.  On the big kid section she still needs lots of help but she does go down all of the slides all by herself.  Even the super-duper-fast one.  (I wish I had a picture picture to share, maybe later!)

FIVE: February 27th marked the nine year anniversary of my hubby and I being together.  We began dating in 2003 while we were in college, he was a freshman and I was a sophomore.  We were married in June of 2006.  It is funny, I both can't believe that its been that long and its hard to remember life without my best friend at my side. 

SIX: I am currently reading the Princess Diaries Series.  (Yes, I have a thing for teen fiction!)  It might be the first time that I significantly prefer a movie's portrayal of a character over the book's.  I just loved Julie Andrews as Grandmere.  That is NOT how she is in the book.  So far I am only finding the books to be average--to be honest, I am a little disappointed.  Oh well, they are quick reads.

SEVEN:  Catherine and I are having a lovely visit with my family.  I love watching her interact with all of her extended family.  She is old enough now to both recognize and be excited to see people.

Read more 7 Quick Takes here.