
I love this recipe because it's a "one pot meal". It can go from the stove to the oven and right to the table. I use black beans in my chili because my family hates kidney beans, but the original recipe calls for 1 can of kidney beans and 1 can of black beans. But I've made so many substitutions to this dish that you can basically add or delete anything you want. The only caveat I have is to make sure your baking powder hasn't expired. Because that could be a problem!
Preheat the oven to 400℉. Heat an oven-safe skillet on the stove over medium heat. Brown the ground beef and onion until beef is cooked all the way through and the onion is soft. This will take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Drain the grease from the skillet.
Keeping the beef in the skillet, stir in the black beans (or kidney beans if you prefer), tomato sauce, water, chili powder, brown sugar, cumin, cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and paprika. Heat the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 7 minutes or until all the ingredients are heated uniformly.
While the chili is cooking, whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt together in a bowl. Whisk in the milk, egg, butter, and vanilla extract. Then spoon the cornbread batter over the chili in the skillet.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the cornbread is brown and slightly crisp around the edges. Serve immediately with your favorite chili garnishes.