Tamale Pie...or Throwing a Lot of Stuff Together

First of all, Tamale Pie tastes nothing like tamales and you shouldn't expect it to.  I actually read a review on a recipe where they complained about this.  Seriously, people?  Okay, this was just a mash up of what we had around the house tonight and an attempt to use that stuff up.  It has a lot of flexibility...kind of like my frittatta recipe.

Tamale Pie

Filling

2 c diced and cooked protein (tonight it was leftover t-bone, you could use a pound of ground meat cooked up too)

1/4 c diced olives or one of those little cans

15 oz canned beans (tonight it was chipotle pinto beans, next time likely black beans)

8 oz can tomato sauce

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, preferably the petite diced ones

small can diced green chiles would be good; we didn't have any!

2 c fresh corn cut off of the cob or canned corn1 T cumin

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

Cornbread Topping

1 c gluten-free flour (or regular flour if that's how you roll)

1 c cornmeal

 T sugar

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 c milk

1/4 c oil of choice (I used melted coconut oil)

Last but not least

1-2 c shredded cheese

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease or spray a 10-in cast iron skillet or  9 x 13 glass baking dish.

2.  Mix all of the filling ingredients together in a large bowl and spread evenly in cooking skillet or pan.

3. Mix cornbread topping ingredients together and spread evenly over filling.

4.  Bake for 40 minutes until topping is cooked through and the filling is bubbling a bit.

5. Spread shredded cheese over the top and cook for another 5 minutes or so until it's melted.

6. Enjoy!