Tex-Mex Chicken Chili & Honey Cilantro Cornbread Bowls

I think our weather is in denial……

It’s almost summer here but the last few days could have made for a very convincing November of my childhood in the northern hem. It’s cold, and very, very wet. This would usually make me sad because I really enjoy the perfect summer temperatures that are supposed to come with summer in my area, but I’m crazy enough to somehow be really happy that it feels like my familiar Thanksgiving week growing up, is that ridiculous? Maybe it is, but I am. I’m temporarily embracing this unusual cold patch as long as it wants to persist this month and/or next. Although, come January it better be sunny and warm, but right now it can rain away and I’ll be smiling about it.

I wanted to post something more holiday-y today but I’ve already shared all my best stuff for Thanksgiving and mentally moved on to Christmas stuff now. This is like that little spot in between where you remember that you can’t actually live on cookies all through December (Oh, but you can try!). No, but we do need some amount of nutrition and I was thinking with it being so close to the big feasts so many of us will be having Thursday, all of you fellow food-fixing-fanatics might want some easy dinner ideas to fix so you have time to work on holiday prep.

So with easy meals in mind I made you guys some chili. Meet your new favorite from-scratch dinner. I don’t think it would be fair to take any credit for this one because it’s actually another one of the recipes my mom used to make when I was growing up. I know it’s kind of got a little bit more of a summery flair going on but you guys have to remember that it’s (supposed to be) getting hot here for me and I have to compromise somewhere. This is the perfect dinner for me and my clan of south pole elves during our cold snap in Chile, but it’s also perfect for those of you up north starting to chatter your teeth together from Winter coming. Yeah I know, I’m in Chile making chili with chili peppers because it’s really chilly. Ha ha, yeah yeah, heard it a billion times, so laugh it up and let’s move on.

Something I love about this meal is that you can also do it casserole style by pouring the chile into a casserole dish and then pouring the cornbread batter over the top and baking for about 3o minutes at 350 degree F. We used to do it this way until our group grew to the by-the-vat size and our oven shrunk just like the Grinch’s heart did before Cindy Lou Who warmed it up (Excuse my not so subtle Christmas references, I’m getting excited here!).

Okay our oven didn’t literally shrink but we did get downsized when we last moved and I try not to complain too much about the fact that I can’t fit my favorite pizza pans or cookie sheets in it. I hope I don’t offend anyone by confiding that Chilean culture is a bit on the shorty side and everything feels smaller. I find myself relating with another quote from the Grinch “It’s cause I’m green, isn’t it?” Oh, and with Buddy the elf in the shower! When we have friends visiting this year I’ll have to hold myself back from thinking of Mrs, Claus and yelling, “Tall people!” Fine, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, the German influence here adds a lot of tall people to the mix and, wow, I need to stop being so brutally honest about things and saying whatever pops into my head. I blame the holiday excitement mixed with coffee.

You guys should make this because it’s amazing! But don’t skimp on all the toppings and stuff, you have to do it up right to get the full effect of the flavor. Make sure to add plenty of lime juice to the top and don’t forget the cheese! That summer flair is the perfect thing to make you feel a little warmer!