Have you ever envisioned a meal and had it turn out better than you expected? This was one of those dishes. I had some leftover ground pork and a can of black beans in the cupboard, so I did a Google search for those two ingredients and found this recipe for mexican pot pie. I had everything the recipe called for, but I didn’t need to feed an army, so I halved it for just me and my husband and tweaked a couple of ingredients.

This casserole had deep flavors and just the right amount of spice and cheese. The cornbread topping was crusty on top and creamy underneath. A dollop of sour cream and this became an instant dinnertime favorite in our household.

Since the full recipe called for one egg, I just beat an egg and eyeballed half of it.

Feeds 4-6

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/3 cup diced bell pepper, color of your choice

2 Tbs. jarred jalapeños, chopped

3/4 lb. ground pork (or beef)

olive oil

1, 8-oz. can of tomato sauce

1 Tbs. tomato paste

5 oz. frozen corn, thawed

1/2 can of black beans

1.5 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. allspice

1 Tbs. chili powder

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce

2 tsp. yellow cornmeal

salt and pepper to taste

 

Cornbread crust:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1.5 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. melted butter

3/8 cup milk

1/2 egg

1/2 cup grated cheddar

1/2 can green chili peppers (4 oz. can)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a small baking dish (mine was 1.5 quarts). In a large skillet, heat up a couple of tablespoons of oil. Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper and jalapeño and cook for about five minutes.

Add the pork and cook till the pork is no longer pink, chopping with a wooden spoon as you go.

Stir in the tomato sauce, paste, corn, beans, cumin, allspice, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, cornmeal, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

For the cornbread batter, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the butter, milk and egg. Stir until just combined. Add the cheese and chili peppers.

Place the filling in the baking dish and dollop the cornbread on top of the filling, spreading it out as you go. If you can’t cover the whole top of the pie, then fill in the holes with grated cheese.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the crust is baked and the filling is bubbling.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a cold beer.