Tamale Pie

I love to take a recipe and tweak it. It's another hobby of mine. Usually, this happens because I don't have exactly what the recipes calls for and I just have to wing it with what I have. Remember I am in the middle of nowhere, so no "quick" trips to the store. Sometimes this works out GREAT and a master piece is created...And sometimes it's a big FAIL and we eat popcorn for dinner.

This reminds me of a funny story from my childhood. I remember when I was fairly young, my mom tried to make chicken and dumplings for the first time. It went SO wrong. I am not sure what even happened and I don't think she even knows to this day. Well, she threw it out to the dogs and they wouldn't even eat it...Dogs!!!!! Now, that was a dinner FAIL. But ya know, it's one of the funniest memories that I have from my childhood.

Can you imagine how boring life would be if everything ALWAYS worked?! Lame. And when we make mistakes we learn from them. Like for example: Don't take the cast-iron skillet out of the oven without an oven mitt. Or how about, ALWAYS-- I repeat-- ALWAYS set a timer. I burned 3 batches of Peanut Butter cookies a few years ago...in a row. Thus, now I remember to set a timer. Oh, and this is a good one! Banana bread calls for ripe bananas for a reason. Don't use green ones. Trust me...

With all of that said, here is an EASY go-to dinner that usually takes 30 min or less to whip up. And you can totally tweak it for what you have on hand.

Tamale Pie
1LB ground meat (beef, turkey, venison, chicken)
1 Med onion
Handful of Cilantro
1 Can diced tomatoes
1 Can beans (black, pinto, kidney...etc)
1/2 Bag frozen corn
1/2 Bag frozen spinach
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tsp garlic powder
1 Tsp onion powder
Salt and Pepper
A couple gluggs of EVOO

For Corn Bread Layer
I have adapted this recipe from Food Networks Alex Guarnaschelli's Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread
1 1/4 Cup organic Corn Meal
3/4 Cup organic sprouted whole wheat
1/4 Cup honey (local is best)
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1 1/3 Cup organic whole milk
2 Eggs
8 Tbsp organic REAL butter
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
What? Why vinegar? Well, if you are like me you NEVER seem to have buttermilk when needed. And this is the case here. So on a whim, I searched what to use as a substitute and HERE is what I found!!!

Now, let's get to work. In a large skillet warm your EVOO per medium-high heat. Pre-heat your oven to 425. Chop your onion. Open your cans and drain your beans (rinse if needed). When skillet is warm add ground meat and brown. When meat is almost browned add in your chopped onion.  Let the onion soften a bit and then add your tomatoes and beans. Next, add in your seasonings: chili powder, cumin, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Feeling spicy? Throw a pinch of cayenne in there. Stir that in. After that is mixed add in your frozen veggies and about 1/4 cup of water. Put a lid on the skillet and simmer. While that is working get to work on your cornbread mixture. Take 1 cup of milk and add your vinegar to it. Do this first as it needs time to activate. In a mixing bowl mix all of your dry ingredients. Then make a well in the middle and add in your wet. Stir this all together. Grab a large casserole baking dish. Add in your simmering skillet ingredients into the dish. On top of this you will then pour your corn bread mixture on top. Place dish in the oven and SET timer for 20 minutes. Baking time will vary with different dishes and ovens. Start out at 20 and add time as needed. You can check cornbread with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, you are good to go! When dish is done, grab that handful of cilantro and throw on top of the yummy warm cornbread.

Serve and EAT! 

This is Macy's favorite dish. That girl loves her some cornbread. I love this dish because not only is it easy, but it has tons of veggies. You can pick and choose which ones you like to use. I love to add in bell peppers when I have them. Or what about jalapeño? Oh yeah!!!

This dish also heats up wonderfully for leftovers. It stays together and is almost even better the next day.

Let me know what substitutions you use! I love trying new things!

AND

Enjoy your Tamale Pie!!!

Bek

Busy Week Night Pizza

Do you ever have those weeknight evenings where you find yourself rushing from one thing to the next? Last week my sweet husband was out of town for work...all week. And of course, we had a million things on the agenda for that week. I teach a P31 Fitness class two nights a week, Levi has soccer, Macy has gymnastics, and there's homework, reading, dogs, chickens and don't forget DINNER!! Feeding my family good wholesome meals is a priority for me. How can we possibly juggle all of those things if we aren't feeding our bodies the nutrients it needs to function properly. This night there was NO time to prepare a lengthy meal. So what's a girl to do??

Semi-Homemade Pizza!

I knew this week would be CrAZy, so on my grocery list I was sure to include a store bought low processed Organic pizza crust, pizza sauce, mozzarella, and of course, pepperonis. On nights like this, you can also grab whatever you have on hand, as far as produce, and throw it on the pizza. For me that was spinach. Spinach on pizza? Yes, please! I love to sauté spinach in a little olive oil and fresh garlic. Takes like 2 minutes and its so tasty and HEALTHY!

Semi-Homemade Pizza 

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

5 cherry tomatoes, sliced

2 handfuls of raw spinach

A few Tbsp Olive oil

1 can of Organic pizza sauce

1 store bought organic pizza crust

2 cups shredded mozzarella 

Slices of organic pepperonis

First things first, preheat oven for pizza. Grab pizza stone and small skillet. Warm skillet for spinach. Toss a little olive oil in there to warm. Chop garlic, slice onion, and slice cherry tomatoes. I rub my pizza crust with a little olive oil and fresh garlic. Next, add sauce to pizza, then pepperoni's (or meat of choice). Then, add cheese. Then add onion and tomatoes. After that, throw a couple of handfuls of spinach in skillet with garlic, and salt and pepper. The spinach will wilt. It only takes a minute or two. Take spinach and scatter on pizza. YUM! With all ingredients on the pizza put in oven for however long the pizza crust package suggests. Mine is 12 minutes.

Cinderella was helping me make pizza.

This picture makes me hungry. Yummy Pizza!

I always make a quick side salad or throw some carrot sticks on the kids plate with the pizza. When I am in a hurry baby carrots are my go-to. My kids like them and they are EASY. But don't think I am stressing over that side of veggies. Levi and Macy get plenty of healthy veggies throughout the day, and they take their Juice Plus+ gummies every single day. So, no veggie worries here.

So DIG in. What are you waiting for?!

--Bek

P.S. Interested in getting FREE Juice Plus for your babes? Contact me and I will hook you up.