Beef and Cheese Tamale Pie

Vseward (Chef~V)'s Note:

This festive casserole is perfect for the holidays. It feeds a crowd and kids love it. This is the next best thing to the traditional tamales.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

Filling

• 1 large onion , chopped
• 1 ½ lbs lean ground beef
• 4 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 (14 ounce) canned stewed tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels or 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 ½ cups grated monterey jack pepper cheese , divided
• 1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese , divided

Cornmeal Batter

• 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt

Toppings

• 1⁄3; cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream (can use light)
• ½ cup canned diced tomato , drained
• sour cream (optional)
• 1 (6 ounce) can pitted black olives (optional)

Directions:

1. To prepare beef filling, combine onion, ground beef, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt and chili powder in a large skillet; sauté until beef is browned.
2. Add tomatoes and corn and heat through. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch casserole dish.
4. To prepare cornmeal batter, combine chicken broth and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk together cornmeal and cold water until smooth. While broth is boiling, add cornmeal mixture all at once, whisking constantly. Stir over medium heat until thick and boiling. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Stir in yogurt and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often.
5. Spread about two-thirds of the cornmeal batter in casserole. Add beef filling. Top with 1 cup pepper Jack and 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Spoon on remaining cornmeal batter and smooth with a spatula.
6. To make the toppings, stir yogurt and cream together in a small bowl. Spoon lines of yogurt mixture and diced tomatoes across top. Sprinkle remaining cheeses over top.
7. Place casserole dish on top of a large baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes; cover with foil and bake 30 minutes longer. Let stand 20 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream and black olives.

Reviews

[Mommy Diva]

For some reason my review on the 19th didn't post, so here I go again! DD helped make this and entire fanily enjoyed this! I think I should have let this cool loger than the 20 minutes b/c mine didn't set up well, but it still tastes great. Next time I might prebake the bottom cormeal then layer and continue as directed since that is the part that didn't firm up for me. DEEELISH!! I added the olives in to the top layer to bake and only put the toppings on half (DD is sometimes picky!!) Thanks for a flavorful dish, V!!! ZWT3.

[pattikay in L.A.]

This was great! Easy and flavorful, and like you said, it feeds a crowd. We ate half and sent the other half over to some friends for dinner. I made it as written this time, but next time I might add some beans, maybe put the black olives right in with the meat. Thanks for posting, V!

[Elmotoo]

This was fabulous! The only 'problem' was after being frozen, it cooked up as a glob, not layered anymore. But if you don't care what it looks like after freezing, rock on! Easy to assemble & delicious. The kids ate & ate & ate it until it was gone. I made this fro ZWT3 OAMC Challenge.