The sun is gone, the lights are humming, and there is a half to go
This is the one that gets requested. A kid dunking a cornbread square into hot chili on a thirty-eight degree sideline is having a better night than the parents in the stands.
Simmer the chili down until a spoon leaves a track through it. A thin chili sloshes out the lid and cools faster, and a thick one is still hot at 7:45 and does not go anywhere.
Bake the cornbread in a muffin tin on Sunday and freeze them. Pull two out in the morning and they are thawed by dinner, no oven, no timing.
Ingredients
The recipe fills 4 thermoses plus 6 cornbread cups. Plan on about 40 minutes.
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 box (8.5 oz) cornbread mix, plus the egg and milk it calls for
How to Make It
- Heat the oven to 400F and bake the cornbread mix in a greased muffin tin per the box, about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Set the cups aside to cool.
- While the cornbread bakes, brown the beef with the onion in a pot over medium-high heat, about 7 minutes. Drain the fat.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, and salt and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the beans, crushed tomatoes, and tomato sauce.
- Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick. Ladle the chili into the warmed thermos while fully heated.
Pack It Hot Safely
Thick chili holds heat well, but the thermos still needs a warm start to keep it safe and hot.
- Fill the thermos with boiling water and let it sit 5 minutes, then empty it just before filling
- Ladle the chili into the warmed thermos while fully heated
- Check current USDA food-safety guidance before relying on a thermos for a long hold
Pack the Sides Separately
The cornbread stays soft and tasty when it rides outside the steamy jar.
- Pack two cornbread cups in a separate box so they stay tender, not soggy
- Add shredded cheese in a small container to stir in at the field
- Tape a spoon to the lid and tuck in a napkin
- Serve with: cornbread cups, shredded cheddar
Parent Tip
Bake the cornbread cups the night before; they pack beautifully and free up your stovetop.
Make it fit tonight
Small changes that make this one fit your night
Turkey chili, simmered longer
Leaner meat needs an extra twenty minutes on the stove to taste as rich.
Black beans alongside the kidney beans
Two kinds of beans give the jar more texture and stretch a pound of beef further.
Half the chili powder
Cut it back for the younger kids and put hot sauce on the table for everyone else.
Cheddar folded into the batter
A cup of shredded sharp cheddar in the cornbread makes it savory enough to eat plain.
Frozen corn, straight into the pot
A cup of corn adds sweetness that makes a spicier pot land better with kids.
Food-Safety Source
Use current food-safety guidance for the food, container, temperature, and wait time in front of you.
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: How Temperatures Affect Food
Plan the next step
Build the week around the cold nights
Use the planner to schedule chili for the coldest games and lighter boxes for the warm ones.