Fried Chicken and Cheesesteaks

I served this casserole, which I made-up from leftover chili, at the first dinner party we ever hosted, a few weeks after we were married. That was a few weeks shy of six years ago now! It's always a hit. If you make the chili a bit on the mild side, but serve hotter salsas on the side, everyone can have the spice level they prefer. At that dinner party I also served a homemade tomatilla salsa verde. It turned out very well, but took hours. So now I buy salsa verde in jars at Trader Joes :) Ingredients: 1 batch chili 2 boxes cornbread mix (Jiffy, or the store brand equivilant) 3 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 pound shredded cheddar cheese Heat oven to 375. Scoop chili (preferably from the day before - it actually tastes better the next day) into 13 x 9 pan. Heat in oven for about 30 minutes. . . Remove from oven: . . . . . . .. . . Top w/ shredded cheddar: . . . . . . .. . . Combine cornbread mix, eggs and milk and pour over cheese. . . . . .. .. ... ...

2 pounds ground beef, browned 1 pound each onion and bell pepper, chopped (or two pounds frozen mixture of the two - I get mine at BJs) 6 cans kidney beans (light, dark, or both) 2 cans diced tomatoes 1 can tomato sauce (just thick tomatoes, not seasoned) 1 jar salsa (or the last bits of three different types, as I did) chopped garlic juice of one lime spices: cilantro (approx 2 T) cumin (approx 1 T) oregano (approx 2 T) ground red peppers: (chili powder, ancho, paprika, cayenne ...) (about 4T total of all types) salt (1 T) pepper(1T) cocoa powder (yes, I said cocoa powder - it really makes a difference - add a tablespoon or so) T = tablespoon Combine all the ingredients in crockpot, and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with shredded cheddar, topped with sour cream, and possibly salsa. I served this round with a simple corn pone - but it didn't turn out as well as I hoped, so I won't bother sharing the recipe. Corn chips or french bread are also good foils. A sa...