What's For Dinner: Tamale Pie

This is one of my husband's favorite meals. It combines all his favorite ingredients except pasta. The only problem I have with it is the prep time. Today it took me an hour to get everything done before it went in the oven, and that's not counting clean-up. I did use frozen hamburger, though, so that added a little bit of cooking time.

Tamale Pie

½ pound ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 and ½ cups whole kernel corn
½ cup pitted ripe olives, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder
Dash of pepper

***

6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1½ cups)
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Cook meat, onion, and green pepper in a large skillet till meat is lightly browned and vegetables are tender. Stir in tomato sauce, corn, olives, garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes, or until thick. Add cheese; stir till melted. Turn into greased 9x9x2-inch baking dish.

Cornmeal Topper: Stir cornmeal and ½ teaspoon salt into cold water. Cook and stir till thick. Add olive oil; mix well. Spoon over hot meat mixture.

Bake casserole in moderate oven (375°) about 40 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

My comments:

I made the filling in a cast iron pan, so instead of using a casserole dish, I just poured the corn batter on top and put the whole pan in the oven. The presentation isn't as nice, but it makes clean-up easier.

I used only about 1/3 pound ground beef because I don't think that small difference matters very much.

I used frozen corn, but drained canned corn would work as well.

You can substitute butter for the olive oil.

Depending on your tastes, you should be able to use less salt.

The original recipe called for American cheese instead of cheddar, but both my husband and I don't care for it.