Easy Family Meals - Mexican Cornbread Tamale Pie

*This post is brought to you in collaboration with Plateful.

We're a house full of Mexican food lovers here. We eat Mex inspired foods at least once a week, sometimes more.

Mexican dishes are so full of flavour and they're often one pot meals too which saves us busy Mums a great deal of time. Nothing like popping a pot of Mexican food on the stove while you work on other things.

Mex inspired foods are easy to prepare using simple ingredients like mince meat, tinned tomatoes and fresh, readily available store-bought vegetables. No trips to special food stores required. (Just as well too, there's none near my place.)

And the smell of Mexican - Oh the smell! I think Mexican has such a fantastic aroma. It's best described as mouth-watering. I have trouble even looking at images of this culture's cuisine without the salivary glands getting active!

We've been enjoying this Mexican inspired creation for several years now and it's popular with the kids, especially the crunchy cornbread topping. It is also a good way of serving this side dish no fuss (cornbread), as it's incorporated into the main so no extra baking required. I'm all about short-cuts here so a yummy short-cut is a beautiful bonus.

 

Cornbread Tamale Pie:

500 gram of lean minced beef,
1 chopped onion,
1, 400gm can of diced tomatoes,
1, 400gm can of red kidney beans,
1 tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce,
1 cup of sweet corn kernels (either fresh, frozen or drained from a can is fine).
Half a cup of chopped green and red capsicum (either or both - adds nice colour too.)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cornbread topping:

3/4 of a cup of polenta, (corn meal).
1 tablespoon of flour,
1 tablespoon of sugar,
1, 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder,
1/2 a teaspoon of salt or to taste,
1 beaten egg,
1/3 of a cup of milk,
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.

Preheat oven to 230 degrees.

Brown mince in a large pan and toss with the onion until softened. Add the remaining pie ingredients and simmer uncovered for around 15 minutes until cooked and some of the sauce has evaporated. You can add your favourite Mexican spice instead of the sweet chilli sauce but personally, I prefer the plainer chilli sauce version as kids like this condiment the most. It really compliments the distinctive flavour of the cornbread topping.

To prepare the cornbread, mix the dry ingredients together well in a separate bowl. Gently blend in the oil, milk and egg until it is evenly mixed.

Place the meat mixture in a suitable casserole dish and pack down firmly. Carefully cover with the wet cornbread mix.

Bake the pie for 20-25 minutes until the cornbread has risen slightly, firmed and browned.

Alternatively, the meat mince sauce makes a great taco filler for children or serve it in small bowls with corn chips for a variation on nachos. Simply add shredded lettuce, chopped fresh tomatoes and cheese with a dash of salsa to serve.

If you're after more inspiring and easy meal ideas for families, then take a look at Plateful. They've a great selection of easy meal ideas and recipes that you can access quickly by searching on a simple ingredient. Perfect for Mums and Dads in a hurry or when you've no idea what to create from scratch.

Are you a Mexican food lover too?

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