Cooking: Skillet Tamale Pie

Last week I wrote about my favorite resources and mentioned the America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. This recipe is from that. It has a great Mexican flavor, a delicious cornbread topping, and makes six plentiful portions. I also like that it is made in one dish for easy cleanup.

My baby nephew wasn't too sure what to think about it while I babysat him, but I think he came around eventually.

Serving information from Americas Test Kitchen (makes 6 servings): 420 calories, 13 g. fat (6g saturated), 45g carbs, 31g protein, 6g fiber

Let's get cooking!

Ingredients: 

Filling

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 onion, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound 95% lean ground beef

1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup frozen corn kernels (or 1 ear corn, kernels removed)

1 cup shredded light cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Salt and Pepper

Corn Bread Topping (can substitute cornbread box mix)

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

3 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

To begin, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. 

Prepare the filling:

Dice the onion and the bell pepper.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skilled over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, bell peppper, and chili powder and cook until the onion is softened (5-7 minutes). 

Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the beef and break up with a spoon.

Stir in the beans, diced tomatoes, and corn and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Make sure to really drain the tomatoes/beans well so that you don't have too much excess liquid (oops!).

Off the heat, stir in the cheese and the cilantro (not pictured because I can't make grocery lists well). Season w/ salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and set aside while you make the cornbread topping.

Prepare the topping:

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl/measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and egg.

Whisk into the cornbread mixture until uniform.

Stir in the melted butter until just combined.

Spread the cornbread mixture evenly over the filling, covering it completely.

Bake the pie until the topping is golden and has baked through completely in the center (15-20 minutes). Let the pie cool 10 minutes before serving.

Cut yourself a hearty slice & enjoy!