I burnt my hand. Badly. I had second degree burns over pretty much half of my hand. The other half had minor, first degree burns. How did this happen? One this particular night, I was making pork chops and roasted apples. Roasting involves.... the oven. So in a stainless steel skillet, I had my apples. I threw on an oven mitt and pulled the skillet out of the oven and put it on the stove. While finishing my pork chops, I needed to move the skillet. And I grabbed the skillet. The same skillet that just come out of a 400 degree oven just a few minutes before. Needless to say, I let go rather quickly. So I ended up in the emergency room because I was in so much pain (I had second degree burns!!). The nurse who took my vitals saw me clutching a washcloth-covered bag of ice and said, "You have a burn. You don't need to be using ice on your hand." I told her, "Look, this ice is the only thing keeping me from crying in pain. I'm keeping the ice." We have still yet to figure out how my ring finger and thumb escaped being burnt. I had to keep my hand wrapped like this for over a week due to the blisters on my hand. Typing and writing was... difficult to say the least. And cooking was really out of the question because, of course, I burnt my right hand which is my dominant hand. Ryan and I like to joke that my pork chops and roasted apples is the most expensive meal we've ever eaten at home! :)
So I was out of commission for quite some time. Once I was able to start cooking again, I had this craving for a tamale pie that I'd made once before. I only had to find the recipe. If you know me well enough, you know I have a great many cookbooks. As in - A LOT. I knew I had this recipe, I just wasn't sure where it was. After quite a bit of time looking, I finally found it! One of the things I love about this recipe is how versatile it is. If you want to add more veggies, you can. Or if you have picky eaters who don't want a lot of veggies, you can add and subtract as you see fit. It's super easy and very easy on the wallet!
Skillet Tamale Pie
adapted slightly from America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
Filling
2 tsp. Canola Oil
1 Onion, minced
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped fine
2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 lb. 93/7 Ground Beef
1 15-oz. can Black Beans, rinsed
1 14.5-oz. can Petite Diced Tomatoes, drained
3/4 c. Frozen Corn
1 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Topping
1 Box Jiffy Mix
1 Egg
1/3 c. Milk
Preheat oven to 450.
Heat the oil in an 12 inch ovenproof skillet to medium heat and add onion, bell pepper, and chili powder and cook until the onion is softened and the bell pepper is cooked through.
Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Mix in the ground beef, beans, tomatoes, and corn and cook until the beef is no longer pink.
Drain and add back into the pan.
Add in the cheddar cheese and cover while you make the topping.
In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the topping (so hard, right?).
Using a rubber spatula, spread the corn muffin topping over as much of the beef mixture as you can (it's not going to be perfect - just says it's "rustic"!).
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the center of the topping is golden brown and cooked through.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!!
