Tamale Casserole

I can't believe I am saying this, but I made Tamale Casserole. My mother made this dish when I was a kid and My sister and I HATED it (I was a picky eater as a kid, so this wasn't unusual for me.) Anyway, the other day I was trying to think of other dinner ideas and for some reason Tamale casserole popped into my head. My Sister and I had always thought there had to be a better way to make, and I figured I'd try. The original recipe called for a corn meal mixture that went on the bottom and ended up tasting spongy. So, after talking with my Mom we discussed making a basic corn bread recipe and baking it on top. It turned out great, but I had too much in the small dish so it boiled over. (Don't worry I thought it might happen so I put a cookie sheet on the rack below at the start of baking it.) This picture doesn't do it justice. I had to cut into it several times to make sure the cornbread was done, but looks aside it made for a very tasty meal.

1/3 cup chopped onion
1 lb ground turkey (recipe calls for ground beef)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 can tomatoes (smashed or slightly pureed in a food processor)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese


-Cook ground turkey in a frying pan chopping into small chunks with the spatula. Cook until no loner pink. Add onion and cook a few minutes longer. Next add garlic, flour, chili powder, salt and cumin. Stir all together. Pour in tomatoes and mix in. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.

While meat mixture is simmering, mix together corn bread ingredients and set aside until ready to use. I halved the original recipe so this amount will be perfect and not over flow.

1 Egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/8 cup oil
Mix together wet ingredients

1 1/4 cups corn meal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/8 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder (a little less than a 1/4 actually)
1/2 tsp salt
-Mix together dry ingredients and then stir in the wet ingredients.

Spray a 7x11 baking dish. Pour in meat mixture and spread evenly across the bottom. Pour corn bread batter over the top. Use spatula (or spoon, or knife) to spread evenly. Don't worry if it doesn't cover the whole top, as is cooks it grows and spreads all over.

I baked it at 350 for about 35 minutes. Make sure to check the corn bread before serving, you don't want doughy cornbread. Also, be sure to put a cookie sheet on the rack below just in case it spills over. You DON'T want to have to clean the oven!!!!