Sizzling Chili Biscuit Pot Pie Casserole

If you have been with me for a while, you know that I don’t always follow a recipe. Sometimes I’ll switch out an ingredient or make other changes that are better suited to our family, our circumstance and tastes. That is not to say it’s better for everyone, just better for us.

This recipe is a great example of making changes. The original recipe had you create individual pot pies in 8 ramekin cups. Two problems with that. First, I don’t know about you, but I don’t have 8 ramekin cups. At least not 8 that are the same. Some are sets of 4, some 6 but none that are 8. Some more squat – others taller, but more slender. Now I will admit, I thought about just making 6 individual cups, waste 2 biscuits, but still . . .

It just made sense for us to have one giant casserole and sit down together than to have individual servings. Besides, one dish makes clean up easier. Now I know what you are going to say – you still need plates for the casserole. You also need plates for the ramekins because those are going to come out of the oven piping hot. So instead of having a casserole dish and three dinner plates I’d have six ramekins, and six salad plates. That’s entirely up to you. If you’ve got the ramekins and don’t mind washing more dishes, that’s great.

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The second change was in the ingredient department. The original recipe called for a pound of lean ground beef. First off, I almost never use lean ground beef. It’s more expensive and it lacks flavor. You can drain the meat once it’s cook to get rid of the grease without discarding the flavor. And as long as we aren’t concerned about the fat, toss in a little chorizo. It’s chili after all, and any chili worth its weight is packed with flavors. When it comes to chorizo, I usually have a pound in the fridge to add to all sorts of things from ground beef tacos to spicy breakfast omelets. I just cook up what I need at the moment. In this case, it was a quarter pound. Just enough for that chorizo kick.

The original recipe also called for “Chili Powder”. While I do have chili powder in my arsenal of spices, most of the time when a recipe isn’t more specific, I’ll reach for my jar of Chile de Nuevo México (Hot New Mexico Chili Pepper). And yeah, I keep my spices alphabetized. Otherwise, it would take way, way too long to find anything. Goodness, that’s an entire kitchen cupboard shelf, five deep.

I haven’t a clue what what’s involved in creating the spice, but one thing is certain New Mexico knows peppers. While this blend of Chili Pepper has that smokey scent usually associated with your traditional Chili Pepper Seasoning, it brings a lot of the same heat found in ground Cayenne or Habanero Pepper. So four teaspoons really brings it on. When it comes to chili, I don’t play around.

Finally, if your guys love chili like mine do, chances are there won’t be left-overs. And that’s a good thing.

Chili Biscuit Pot Pie Casserole
1/2 White Onion
1 lb lean Ground Beef
1/4 lb Spicy Chorizo
1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 teaspoons New Mexican Hot Chili Powder
3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 (14.5 oz) can Fire-roasted Diced Tomatoes, drained
1 (15.5 oz) can Zesty Pinto Chili Beans, undrained
2 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon Honey
1 (16.3 oz) can refrigerated Southern Home-style Biscuits
2 teaspoons Yellow Cornmeal

Heat oven to 325-degrees. Dice onion, set aside.

In 12-inch skillet, cook beef, chorizo and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.

While the meats and onion cook, mix together Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. This will create a wet spice mixture. Set aside.

Drain most of the liquid from the tomatoes. Add diced tomatoes, chili beans and spice mix to beef in skillet. Heat to simmering; cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until bubbling and slightly thickened.

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Remove from heat. Place chili mixture in a casserole dish. Set aside.

In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High 15 to 20 seconds or until melted. Stir in honey.

Separate dough into 8 biscuits; arrange biscuits on top of chili. (Six should fit, cut remaining 2 biscuits to fill in the holes). Brush tops of biscuits liberally with melted butter mixture; sprinkle with cornmeal.

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Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and baked through.

The only thing left is for you to enjoy a little heat.