Tamale Pie

Beef Filling Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-4 teaspoons chili powder
1 dash pepper
1 (15 ounce) can black beans or refried beans
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

Cornmeal Topping

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions

Cook meat, onion, and green pepper in a large skillet until meat is browned; drain fat. Stir in tomato sauce, corn, olives, garlic, seasonings, and beans; simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until thick; stir in cheese then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, stir cornmeal, salt, and cold water together in a saucepan; cook over medium-high heat (please be careful as hot cornmeal mixture may splatter) for a minute or two, stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

Turn meat filling into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that has been lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon cornmeal topping evenly over entire top of beef filling.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until cornmeal topping is set and beef filling is bubbly. Serve topped with salsa and sour cream.

NOTE: Family-sized portions of the cooked beef filling freeze excellently in Ziploc freezer bags - To serve: Just thaw, turn meat filling into a prepared baking dish, quickly make and spoon on a proportional amount (for a frozen half-batch to be baked in an 8x8" pan, prepare topping using 1/2 cup cornmeal and 1 1/3 cup water) of cornmeal topping, bake and enjoy!