Southwest Ranch House Tamale Pie

Here’s a funny story for you:  when Charlie and I first married 25 years ago, I made a vegetarian Southwest Tamale Pie.  It was delicious and spicy filled with lots of great vegetables and beans, but, of course, no meat.  As we were eating, a funny look came over Charlie’s face and he said to me, “if you think you are going to turn me into a vegetarian, you are sorely mistaken!”

That was the last time I made this dish meatless!  But, you can, indeed, make my Southwest Tamale Pie without meat.  This version, however, is made with ground turkey.  Savory and delicious, it satisfies on every level and depending on how big your family is, you will eat this version for several meals or have lunch ready for the next day!

An update on Charlie’s non-conversion to vegetarianism – he does eat meatless meals.  Not often, but he does eat them.  So, over 25 years of cooking for the two of us, he eats whatever I make.  And, most of the time, he doesn’t complain {grin}.

I asked him the other day if he could count on his two hands how many times I’d made an inedible dish in our 25+ years together.  He said twice that he could remember.  I guess that’s pretty good odds and I guess that means I’m a pretty good cook!  However, I did make a pretty terrible dish a couple of weeks ago.  I think he must have forgotten.

I was watching Rachel Ray’s “A Week in a Day” show and she was making Chicken Chilaquiles.  I’ve never made them before and inspired, I decided to try.  But (and this is a BIG but), I didn’t have all the ingredients needed to recreate her recipe.  So, I do what I do all the time – I improvised.  So, here’s

How to Ruin Dinner in 3 Steps

It started out promising…

1. The sauce, made in the blender with lots of fresh herbs, was refreshing and tasty.
2. The dreadful part happened when I cooked the sauce with the chicken in a pot.  Whatever fresh herbs I used with the other ingredients, once cooked took on a completely different flavor.
3. The gagging part happened when we tried to eat the finished dish after it baked in the oven for almost an hour.  After a few bites, we threw the entire thing out!

With no “backup plan”, we ate cookies in an attempt to get the horrible taste out of our mouths!!  I haven’t had compete failures often, but this was a resounding one.  And, a humbling one.

And, I guess Charlie’s already forgotten {grin}.  But, my Southwest Tamale Pie is really very good.  I promise {grin}.

Here’s the recipe:

Southwest Ranch House Tamale Pie

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Savory and delicious, this recipe combines the spicy meat and vegetable mixture with a slightly sweet cornmeal crust.

• Author: Carole from Toot Sweet 4 Two
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour 10 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
• Yield: 8 1x
• Category: Casserole
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the meat and vegetable layer:

• 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced into small cubes
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 1 15 ounce can of dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 4 ounces tomato paste (save remaining 2 ounces from 6 ounce can for another use)
• 1 cup frozen corn, defrosted
• 4 ounce can of sliced black olives
• 4 ounce can of diced green chilies

For the cornmeal topping:

• 2 cups cold water
• 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 8.5 ounce of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
• 1 tablespoon butter

For garnish:

• Sour cream
• Salsa
• Cilantro leaves

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the meat and vegetable mixture:

1. In a large non-stick skillet, brown ground meat over medium heat until almost brown, breaking meat up with a spoon as it cooks.
2. Add the chili powder, salt, pepper and ground cumin mixing well to combine.
3. Add the onion, bell pepper, carrots and garlic and sauté for about 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
4. Add kidney beans, corn, black olives, diced chilies, diced tomatoes and tomato paste, mixing well to combine
5. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, while you make the cornmeal topping.

For the cornmeal topping:

1. In a medium saucepan, stir the water, cornmeal, paprika, salt and corn muffin mix together over medium-high heat until thickened.
2. Add butter and mix well; remove from heat.
3. Pour meat and vegetable mixture into a greased 9″ x 13″ casserole baking dish or one of equivalent size; spread mixture evenly in pan with a spoon.
4. Spread cornmeal mixture over top of meat mixture with a spoon.
5. Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 1 hour until lightly browned.
6. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
7. Garnish with sour cream, salsa and cilantro.

Notes

This recipe makes 8 healthy-sized servings. For smaller appetites, plan that there will be leftovers.

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(other Southwest-inspired recipes)

• Charlie’s Layered Mexican Casserole
• Charlie’s Lite Layered Mexican Casserole
• Cheesy Mexican Omelet
• Easy Homemade Salsa
• Ensalada de Nopales
• GuacaMolly
• Hot Mexican Corn Dip
• Lite Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Dip
• Mexican Caesar Salad
• Mexican Caesar Salad Dressing
• Mexican Corn Salad
• Mini Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins
• Rosa’s Caramel Flan
• Rosa’s Pork Posole
• Shrimp Soft Tacos
• Spicy Crock Pot Chili
• Spinach Tortillas
• Taco Salad