Tasty Tamale Pie

Ingredients

Beef Filling

• 1 1/4 lbs lean 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 ripe olives
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 dash pepper

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans or refried beans
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Cornmeal Topping

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

Directions

1. 1

   Cook meat, onion, and green pepper in a large skillet until meat is browned; drain fat.

2. 2

   Stir in tomato sauce, corn, olives, garlic, seasonings, and beans; simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes until thick; stir in cheese then remove from heat.

3. 3

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

4. 4

   Turn meat filling into a 9x13" baking dish that has been lightly coated with no-stick cooking spray; spoon cornmeal topping evenly over entire top of beef filling.

5. 5

   Bake at 375° for about 40 minutes until cornmeal topping is set and beef filling is bubbly; serve topped with salsa and sour cream.

6. 6

   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!