Tamale Pie Saturday

I'm not a cook and I'm not a baker. When I'm not grabbing something on the go, I'm sitting down at a restaurant or a cafe for my meals. When I do prepare my own food, it's assemble, don't cook. I eat tons of cheese and crackers, yogurt and granola, and snack foods. Since we all know that October is the best time to get your awesome on, I decided to kick it off by buying the ingredients to make a dish that I love: tamale pie! It's among my favorite dishes to make for a few reasons:

1. It's not difficult to make.
2. It's a casserole and I love casseroles.
and
3. It's DELICIOUS!

Here we go. This is the recipe I am using:

This tamale pie recipe is made with ground beef, onion, peppers, tomatoes, corn, olives, and cheese, and has a cornmeal and cheese crust.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 large can (28 ounces) tomatoes, cut up
• 1 can (16 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 small can (4 ounces) sliced ripe olives
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• dash black pepper
• 1 cup grated Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
• .
• Crust:
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, for topping (optional)

Preparation:

Brown ground beef with onions and green pepper; drain well. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, corn, olives, garlic, sugar, salt, chili powder and black pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until thickened. Add cheese; stir until cheese is melted. Set filling aside.
In a saucepan, combine cornmeal, salt, water and chili powder. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Stir in butter. Spread half of the mixture into a baking dish, about 12- x 8-inches. Spoon filling over bottom crust; spoon remaining cornmeal mixture over filling. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes. If desired, sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over the crust about 5 minutes before casserole is done.
Serves 6.

*This recipe I'm sharing is from http://southernfood.about.com