Tamale Pie - Recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes to make. It is very tasty and very easy to make and freezes well. There is very little prep work as the only thing that really needs to be chopped is the onion and garlic. The rest is either canned or frozen. I use all canned. This recipe can also be adjusted to fit your personal taste. More of something - less of something, ground chicken or ground beef; what ever you want. Cory likes things spicy so I add a diced jalapeno to spice things up. For the cornbread topping I use a box mix, it is easier.

I make the entire dish in a cast iron pan. But if you don't have one, any oven-proof pan will work fine. If you don't have an oven-proof pan then after cooking on the stove top, transfer to a casserole dish. You can also make this dish ahead of time, which is what I do now a days. Because it is just the two of us, I split in half and transfer into two casserole dishes. I freeze one and put the other in the refrigerator. Just before I bake it, I make the cornbread topping and put on top. To make the frozen one, just defrost over night in the refrigerator and bake as usual. Still very tasty!

Tamale Filling

1 tablespoon Vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 diced jalapeno (seeded if you don't want it too spicy)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

Salt

1 pound ground beef or chicken. (I use ground chicken)
1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes, drained

1 (8 3/4 ounce) whole kernel corn, drained

1 (7 ounce) diced green chilies (they are not hot and you can use a smaller can if you wish)

2 cups grated cheddar cheese (I use less and sometime none to save on calories; we don't miss it)

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (I usually use more because it adds so much nice flavor)

Cornbread Topping

I use Jiffy cornbread mix. It is very easy and only around $.75 and can easily be found at the grocery store.

- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

- For the filling: I use a cast iron skillet - heat vegetable oil. Add the onion, chili powder, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and jalapeno and cook for about 30 seconds. Be sure not to let the garlic burn as it becomes bitter if burned!

- Add the meat into the mixture breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook until no longer pink. Then proceed to add in all the vegetables. Stirring all the ingredients. Mix in the cheese and the cilantro. Salt and pepper to taste.

- Make the cornbread according to the directions on the box. You may need to adjust the oven temperature. Dollop the the cornbread on top of the tamale and bake.

- Serve with sour cream and cilantro. Enjoy!