This really is an easy dish, cheap to make and fairly quick. There are plenty of options for changing things up. The way I made this last night improved the flavor and made for a very delicious casserole dinner.
Start with some ground beef, onions, jalapeno. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, and some chili powder of your choice. I have some smokey chipotle chili powder with brought a lovely mild heat and slight smoked flavor. If you prefer, you can use ground pork, chicken, turkey. Your choice.
Add some corn and let simmer and bubble for a little bit while you move to creating the base of the dish.
Mix some cornmeal and some water in a dish. Season liberally with salt & pepper. You do this step to prevent lumps in the cornmeal. You don't have to take this step, but it's helpful. Then you bring some water to a boil and pour this mixture in. Simmer and stir for a few brief minutes to make a creamy base. Add a pat of butter for extra richness. You can use some chicken broth/stock if you like, instead of water for more flavor.
Pour your cornmeal porridge in the bottom of a baking dish and spread evenly. Allow to set for a minute.
Sprinkle the cornmeal base with shredded cheese. This is an optional step, but a tasty step.
Spoon the meat/tomato mixture over the cornmeal base, spread out.
Add some more cheese and place in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 until...
melty, gooey and all sorts of cheesey.
Serve hot and enjoy.
3 comments:
This is very filling - watch out for that cornmeal, which will expand in your belly!
If you're not in a rush, you can let this set up a bit so the corn portion becomes firmer.
Can you put in the in shape of a caboose? Then we would really be on the hot tamale train!
Gotta tell you, after the first sentence, all I could think of is if you made it two years ago, you had to have packed it up and moved it when you got your new house.
Sounds good.
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