Upside Down Skillet Chili Pie

Here's one that I just made up tonight. I was bored with our normal dinner fare - pasta, leftovers, soup, etc. - and wanted something a little different. I thought it would be fun to create some sort of savory version of Southern Plate's Skillet Apple Cake, something with a saucy bottom and battery top that gets cooked up on the stove and turned out onto a platter. Somewhere along the line it occurred to me to try a sort of chili-and-corn-bread kind of thing, so that's what I did.

Upside Down Skillet Chili Pie
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 can kidney beans (I used a bag of cooked beans from the freezer)
Chili powder and salt to taste
Corn bread
1 cup flour
3/4 cup corn meal
2-3 tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil or melted butter

First I heated some oil in a large skillet and arranged the sliced tomatoes in the pan. I was thinking that it would make a pretty top for the pie. More about that later...

Then I thawed my beans and seasoned them with chili powder and salt. I should have drained them first. More about that later...

Then I poured the beans over the tomato slices and cooked this over medium heat, without stirring, until the liquid from the beans had reduced down; though next time since I'll drain the beans, I won't be doing this cooking step. More about that later...

Mix up the corn bread batter by combining all the dry ingredients in one bowl and all the wet ingredients in another bowl. Add the wet to the dry, and mix until moistened. Pour over the beans and tomatoes and cover. Cook on low heat for 20-25 minutes until the corn bread is firm.

Then gently invert the pie onto a large plate or platter. Isn't it pretty?


But wait - didn't I say that I had tomatoes on it? Yes I did. And because I cooked them for so long, they stuck to the bottom of the pan. That's okay, I realized that I didn't want them on the pie anyway - they were burnt to a crisp! So next time I won't precook the tomatoes and beans. Next time I'll drain most of the liquid off the beans before seasoning them, and pour the batter over them right away, so that maybe the stuff on the bottom won't burn to the pan.

I served this with sour cream and shredded cheese. It was not exactly a perfect recipe, but it was definitely good enough for me to want to try again to work out the kinks. I love inventing recipes!