Skillet Tamale Pie

My friend “RossBoss” and I made this recipe together for our husbands last year after a day spent crafting a Happy Birthday Banner (the ladies) and building The Littlest Apple’s bed (the men).  After dinner and margaritas, we  played board games and just enjoyed each other’s company.  What a great day that was!  I need to make an effort to do stuff like this with my friends more often.  (We just hosted our Second Annual Minute To Win It Party over the weekend, so I guess that’s a start!)

In addition to the great company that day, I LOVED this meal.  And I just the got recipe from my friend and made it again tonight, so I thought I’d share.  One skillet meals like this are so easy!  The crisp cornbread topping goes wonderfully with the bean, meat and chipotle filling.  When we first made this recipe, we dumped the whole can of chipotles in.  It was SPICY!  This time I toned it back and you know, followed the instructions, using 4 teaspoons of chipotle for a milder flavor.  If you like it hot, you can always add more!

Skillet Tamale Pie

from America’s Test Kitchen: 30 Minute Suppers, October 2010

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed (or one can of fresh corn)
• 4 teaspoons mined chipotle chiles in adobe sauce
• salt and pepper
• 10 ounces store bought cornbread, crumbled (about 2 1/2 cups) (Made my own)
• 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 1/2 pounds 85% lean ground beef
• 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pulse corn, 1 teaspoon chipotle, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in food processor until well combined, about 6 pulses. Transfer to bowl. Stir in cornbread and 1 1/2 cups cheese and mix until thoroughly combined.

Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook onion and remaining chipotle until softened, about 4 min. Add beef and cook until no longer pink, 3-5 minutes. Stir in beans and tomatoes and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in remaining cheese and cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle cornbread mixture evenly over filling. Transfer to the oven and bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 10-15 minutes. Serve.