Tamale Pie

By Kelly Bogard

Sometimes a cold and dreary day can spark genius. It happened while having lunch with several Texas Farm Bureau co-workers and talking about what types of food we like in the winter. Of course, as Texans, Tex-Mex was quite high on the list. As well as things like stew and potato soup.

We all have a love of tamales, but they’re very time-consuming to make and take a special touch to make them just right. And I don’t have that touch. I’ve tried and they’re not pretty at all. I do, however, have a way for you to get that wonderful flavor without the hours of work.

For Tamale Pie, you will need…
1 pkg. yellow cornbread mix
1 14-oz. can cream corn
1 lb. lean ground beef (I use 90% lean)
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 4-oz. can diced green chilies
1 15-oz. can enchilada sauce
2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded

This is a quick and easy meal that you can adjust to a heat level you like. I made this one with medium heat enchilada sauce and it was quite spicy for some and perfect for others. I normally use the mild when I can find it.

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While your oven is heating, prepare the cornbread batter per the package instructions. Then stir in the cream corn.

Pour the mixture into a sprayed 9×13 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

Combine the ground meat, taco seasoning, onion and green chilies in a large skillet and brown the meat. If you use a leaner meat, there will be no need to drain it to remove grease once done.

Now that the cornbread is baked, reset your oven to 350 degrees. Pour the enchilada sauce in with the meat mixture.

Your cornbread should be cool enough to handle. Crumble it in the baking dish and press back down to the bottom to create the masa-type texture.

Finally, pour the meat with sauce over the cornbread and top with shredded cheese. Bake for 20 minutes more and then serve warm.

This is a meal perfect for weeknights since it only takes a little while to prepare and it is perfect for leftovers. That is, if there are any. If you have any favorite winter recipes, be sure to let me know. From all of us at Texas Table Top, enjoy!

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Recipe: Tamale Pie

Summary: Lots of flavor in a fraction of the time

Ingredients

1 pkg. yellow cornbread mix
1 14-oz. can cream corn
1 lb. lean ground beef (I use 90% lean)
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 4-oz. can diced green chilies
1 15-oz. can enchilada sauce
2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix cornbread per package directions.
Add cream corn and stir well.
Pour into a prepared 9×13 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
Combine beef, taco seasoning, onion and green chilies in a large skillet to brown.
Switch oven temp to 350 degrees after cornbread is finished baking.
Stir enchilada sauce into meat mixture.
Once cool to touch, crumble cornbread and press it to bottom of the baking dish.
Pour meat over cornbread.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Serve warm.