Halloween Revisited-Chili and Cornbread

(I had already done this one and made a mistake and messed up the post so I had to start over)

When the kiddles were little and did the Halloween Trick or Treat thing I always worried that they needed a good warm meal before they went out in the cold. I decided that we would make chili for dinner each Halloween. Originally I also bought doughnuts with the Halloween sprinkles to go along with it and later when I discovered the cornbread recipe I decided to do that instead of the doughnuts. The chili recipe came from my father-in-law which makes it even more fun for a tradition. I did learn, however, that this particular recipe doesn't work well if you are using dried beans in a slow cooker. My daughter, Jessica, tried it with canned kidney beans and varied spices and it worked well. I will attach her recipe later.

Dad Stevenson's Chili

2 lbs lean ground beef
2 green peppers chopped finely
2 onions, chopped finely
2 c celery, chopped
4 c chili beans, soaked
2-3 T. chili powder, more if you like it hotter
32 oz. canned tomatoes
salt to taste

Soak chili beans overnight. Cook beans until the skin slips when you blow on them.
Meanwhile, brown ground beef and vegetables. Mix all ingredients and cook on low for
hours. You may need to add water during cooking.

Corn Bread

1 c. melted butter or margarine
1 1/4 c. sugar
4 eggs
(mix together)

2 c. buttermilk
1 t. soda
(add to above mixture)

2 c. cornmeal
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
(add to prior mixture)

Bake in greased 9x13 pan in 350 ovens for 35 mins.