Directions
There’s a reason I hold onto cookbooks. Like photo albums, my cookbooks hold memories and when I open one up that has sat on a shelf for a while, those memories come flooding back. I was trying to figure out my meals for the week and, after having no luck with the cookbooks and recipes I have stashed in my kitchen, I moved my search to the next logical place, the laundry room closet. There, in my stash of old, haven’t been used in a while books, I came across a cookbook that I’d bought the first year we were married. Memories of my first little kitchen and the meals just the two of us shared came back to me in an instant. I knew at once which recipe I was going to make from that cookbook this week.
This deep dish chili pie recipe was baked up numerous times in my very first apartment, my second apartment, our first house and then the book ended up in my laundry room closet in this house and hadn’t been heard from since. It’s a really tasty, different take on chili that we’ve really enjoyed in the past, and were happy to enjoy again!
First things first, I needed to make up a quick batch of simple chili. To save even more time, (Because measuring a few spices is SO tedious, right?) it uses packaged taco seasoning.
Other than browning up the meat, everything else just goes right into the chili pot in one fell swoop.
After the chili has simmered for 20 minutes, and my house smelled wonderfully yummy because of it, I unfolded a packaged pie crust into my pie plate, sprinkled it with just a bit of cheddar cheese and filled the crust with the chili.
I threw a little more cheddar cheese on top, just for kicks, and topped it with the top crust. I crimped the edges and popped it in the oven for 30 minutes. Once the timer went off, I sprinkled just a little more cheese on the top crust and let it bake up for 10 minutes more.
When I removed it from the oven, I had a perfectly crispy, cheesy crust.
I let the pie set up for just a few minutes before cutting into it. I sliced it up, topped it with sour cream and a little more cheese (why not, right?) and we were ready to go! We were treated to a cozy family meal together and my husband and I remembered why I used to make this all the time in the first place! The chili is flavorful and hearty, but not so spicy that the kids won’t touch it. In fact, the stewed tomatoes add a bit of sweetness to the chili that I think really worked in the kids’ favor! Lesson learned: I need to venture into the laundry room to hunt for recipes more often!
DEEP DISH CHILI PIE
Adapted from Down Home Cooking
- 1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
- 2 (14.5 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
- 1 medium green pepper, diced
- 1 (1-1.25 oz.) package store-bought Taco seasoning
- 1 Tbsp. cornmeal
- 1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 package refrigerated pie crusts
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream, optional
- Preheat your oven to 350*.
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the beef and cook until browned, just a few minutes. Drain the fat and return the beef to the pan.
- Add the tomatoes, green pepper, Taco seasoning, and cornmeal. Stir until combined. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and remove from the heat.
- Using a 10-inch pie plate, unfold one of the crusts and sprinkle about 1/4 of cheese over the bottom crust. Pour the chili mixture into the crust and top with 1/4 more cheddar cheese. Top with the remaining pie crust and flute the edges, making sure the pie is well sealed. Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet, just in case the pie bubbles over.
- Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the crust and return to the oven for 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and begins to brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with sour cream.
- ENJOY!
