I had a Blair Witch moment this morning.

I dropped my car off to be serviced and on the run home I decided to cut through the Appalachian Trail. Thick cloud cover above, thick fallen leaves below and patchy blazes on the trees…you guessed it. I got off trail. I didn’t have my phone on me, either.

Suddenly, it felt like that crazy movie. I was waiting to look up and see those eerie stickmen in the trees.

Obviously, since I am sitting in front of my computer telling you all this, I made it out of the woods. Other than my ridiculously wild imagination, I encountered nothing even remotely wild. I wasn’t lost for long, it just felt like it.

All of witch (haha!) has nothing to do with today’s recipe.

Chili Beef Corn Bread Casserole is a homey and warming dish that’s perfect for a busy night or to bring to a potluck. A not too spicy chili filling is sandwiched between layers of cheesy cornbread. You can raise the heat by serving some salsa on the side.

The cornbread here was a bit sweet for my taste, so I will probably reduce, or even eliminate, the sugar next time.

Chili Beef Corn Bread Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup 2% milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 can (8-1/4 ounces) cream-style corn
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream and salsa, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking it up; drain.

3. Stir in cornstarch, then onion, chili powder, garlic powder and tomato sauce. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat.

4. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk and oil until blended; stir in corn. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in cheese.

5. Spread half of the batter into a greased 2-quart baking dish. Top with beef mixture. Spread remaining batter over filling.

6. Bake, uncovered, 25-30 minutes or until a tester inserted in corn bread portion comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. If desired, serve with sour cream and salsa.

Serves 6

Recipe from Simple & Delicious Magazine

Lost Woods came to mind as a good band to play today. ‘King Of Aberdeen’ would be most pleasant to listen to while running over leaves in search of a trail.

Check out Lost Woods on Facebook. You can buy their music on Bandcamp.

Cheers!