Tamale Pie

     Grant's mom makes tamale pie. And he loves it. Which means that if I make it, it's gotta be good. Because she's a good cook. She's one of those comfort food, Weight Watcher, Taste of Home, recipes-you-never-would-have-thought-to-try-but-are-delicious kinda cooks! Thankfully, I have a husband that doesn't feel like he can't like my cooking just because he likes his mom's so much. Awesomely enough, he really enjoys my food, most of it, at least that's what he continues to tell me. There was one time that an experiment went awry... so awry that we couldn't even pretend to finish it and had some PBnJ on stale bread b/c anything would be better than what I dished up. But that's for another time.

     So, when I asked Grant what he wanted for dinner when I was making the menu for last week, he promptly said: Tamale pie! And the hunt for a great recipe began! I searched for hours that day just trying to find the perfect recipe! I couldn't find the perfect one, so I combined a couple that turned into my own version... and it became the perfect Tamale Pie recipe! (You can find the link to the two recipes that I adapted mine from below.) Let me tell you... I unfortunately don't have a picture, but I can tell you that it was super delish and you should go to the store right now and get the ingredients to make this for dinner! Do it!


Tamale Pie


Ingredients
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 C onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 15oz can corn
1 medium can of olives, sliced
1 small can chopped green chiles
1/3 C raisins (I was a little worried about this, but oh dear goodness it adds a subtle hint of sweetness that is too good to ignore!)
1 tbsp crushed garlic or 1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp pepper
6oz shredded cheddar cheese
Cornbread mix (and ingredients to make cornbread, usually milk and 1 egg)

Directions
In a skillet over med high heat, brown the ground beef and drain. Add onion and red pepper to ground beef and saute for a few minutes until soft.

Add cans of tomato sauce along with corn, olives, green chiles, raisins, garlic, and seasonings. Turn down heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.
Pour mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle generously with shredded cheddar.
(By the by, I've started lining every single baking dish with foil beforehand, and it's saved me so many hours of cleaning dishes! yah!)

Prepare the cornbread and pour over ground beef mixture. I poured several rows and then used a spatula to spread it out. The cornbread batter is thick, so I wouldn't pour it in one spot and then try to spread it from there, I don't think it would reach everywhere. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough batter in fact because I was having a hard time covering the whole casserole, but it worked out.

Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

Here's all I have left for you:

Recipes courtesy of: Simply Recipes and All That Splatters