Tex-Mex Cornbread Casserole

This was a standard dish at our house while I was growing up. I’ve tweaked it to make it my own. Many people buy a prepared cornbread mix to use, but it’s so simple to whip up a half-batch of cornbread that I don’t see the point in buying the mix. Also, I’ve started making my own taco seasoning and if you want to do that too, you can find a recipe online.

INGREDIENT LIST

1# lean ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes

1 4-oz. can chopped green chiles

1 14-oz. can kidney beans

1 pkg. (2 Tbsp.) Taco seasoning

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

½ cup flour

½ cup corn meal

2 Tbsp. sugar

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ cup milk

3 Tbsp. oil

1 egg

Fry ground beef, onion, and garlic together in oven-proof skillet. Stir in tomatoes, chiles, beans, and taco seasoning. Let simmer for a few minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in a handful of grated cheese.

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, mix milk, oil, and egg. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Pour this batter over the top of the ground beef mixture as pictured. If you do not have an oven-proof skillet, you can use a greased 9×13” pan to place the cooked ground beef mixture and then pour the corn bread batter over the top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve.