Tamale Pie
My mom always made casseroles for dinner and I was never a fan. I’m pretty sure it was the mush factor. When I started cooking for myself I realized casseroles were pretty good if you got the ratio of ingredients just right.
Embracing this new found love of casseroles I decided to revisit a childhood memory of my mom making Tamale Pie for dinner. Basically it’s the flavors tamales (a family favorite) in a casserole.
I switched up the old recipe by putting the cornbread on the bottom to serve as a crust, with a meaty filling and a topping of crunchy corn chips. Suddenly all the memorable flavors of my youth came flowing back and now casseroles and I are the best of friends.
Tamale Pie
Ingredients:
cornbread layer ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
filling ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup corn
1 (4 oz) can olives, sliced
topping ingredients:
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups corn chips
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prep a 9×13 baking dish by greasing it with melted butter.
The first layer is the cornbread. In a bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and add the milk, oil and egg. Stir until just combined and pour into the prepped baking dish. Set aside.
In a skillet brown the ground beef then add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
Stir in the corn and olives and pour on top of the cornbread mixture.
On top of the filling add a layer of corn chips. Since I was serving this for a party I used giant Fritos Scoops and layered it in a nice design. That sort of work isn’t necessary, a neat layer of corn chips works just fine. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes until the cornbread layer is cooked through. Serve hot.