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Chicken Chili and Cornbread Casserole
Recipe posted in: Flex Meals & Snacks, Lunches & Dinners, Main Courses
Chicken Chili and Cornbread Casserole is a meal full of both fanciful flavors and appetizing alliteration. This recipe has a healthy take on one of your favorite classics.
The first thing you’ll need to do is think about what your game plan is for this meal. Is it time to get the whole family together? Or will you be meal prepping for the healthy week ahead? Decisions, decisions! Regardless, you’ll be making the Chicken Chili and Cornbread Casserole from scratch to create a homemade healthy (and hearty!) meal. Before you start assembling the ingredients, preheat your oven to 350 degrees so that it’s ready when the time comes.
Pour olive oil into a large, oven-safe sauté pan or a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Chop a large yellow onion and add it to the pan. Allow the onion to cook until it’s slightly softened. While the onion is cooking, chop up a green and red bell pepper and toss them into the pan along with some minced garlic. After the peppers and garlic have been cooking for about a minute, remove them from the pan and set them aside.
Add the ground chicken to the pan and begin to brown it. Break it up with a spatula or wooden spoon as it cooks. After it’s been cooking for nearly five minutes, stir in diced tomatoes with juice, as well as tomato sauce, corn and spices to kick things up a notch! Let your colorful concoction simmer for a few minutes and season to taste. Add the onion, peppers and garlic back in and stir. Set the pan aside and just like that, your Chicken Chili is done!
Now time for the Cornbread Casserole—grab a large bowl from your cabinets and whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Once you’ve whisked to your heart’s content, find a medium bowl and whisk together an egg, milk, maple syrup and butter. When they’re thoroughly mixed, stir the wet ingredients into the dry and then pour the batter over the chili. Place the pan into the oven and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly brown. Gently press on the top to see if it springs back. If it does, your work is done! Let the Chicken Chili and Cornbread Casserole stand for 10 minutes before serving.
On a Nutrisystem plan? You can count each serving as two PowerFuels, one SmartCarb, half of a Vegetable serving and two Extras.
Looking for more great chicken recipes? Check out these healthy options:
Servings: 8
Calories per Serving: 306
On Nutrisystem, Count As: 2 PowerFuels, 1 SmartCarb, ½ Vegetable and 2 Extras
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
- 1-pound ground chicken
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1¼ cup cornmeal
- ¾ cup whole-wheat flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup skim milk
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp. canola oil
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare chili: Heat oil in a large oven-safe sauté pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add bell peppers and garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute. Remove from pan and set aside. Add ground chicken to the pan and cook, breaking it up with a spatula or wooden spoon, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes with their juice, tomato sauce, corn and spices. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Add back in onion and peppers and stir.
- Prepare cornbread: In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, milk maple syrup and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Spread the cornbread batter evenly over the chili.
- Bake in oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned and top springs back when touched lightly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
