Best Recipe EVER

You need to go make this now.

Fiesta Tamale Pie

This is seriously the greatest thing I've made in a long time.

I did make a couple changes to the recipe (of course):

1.) I added some cumin to the turkey as it was browning. Since it was a taco-y dish, I thought the spice would be a nice complement. I was right (of course). You could easily use a packet of taco seasoning if you have that on hand. Also, I'm certain you could substitute hamburger with smashing results. This is supposed to be a Weight Watchers-friendly recipe, so it calls for turkey.

2.) I used a full pound of turkey. I had a 1 lb tube and I wasn't going to mess with saving half a tube. I kept the proportions for everything else the same. I did, however, use a rectangular casserole dish to bake it in.

3.) I used a can of diced chiles in place of the jalepenos the recipe calls for.

4.) Possibly the biggest change, I used my own cornbread recipe, rather than buying a box mix. I was a bit nervous about this, but I needn't have worried. It turned out great. Because I used my own cornbread, though, I did have to bake it a bit longer. I think it ended up being nearly an hour.

5.) Not really a change, but I wanted to mention that for the salsa, I used a jar of corn and black bean salsa. The corn was a nice complement.


In case you're wondering, what follows is our family's cornbread recipe. Definitely the easiest and best cornbread I've ever made. I've experimented with other recipes, but I always come back to this one. This recipe makes a 9x13 pan of cornbread; for tonight, I halved it and had the perfect amount.


Grandma Schmidt's Cornbread
1/2 c. Crisco
1 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. milk
pinch salt
2 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal (white is better)
3 tsp. baking powder

OIL a 9x13 cake pan. Not Pam, oil. A couple tbsp. for sure. It shouldn't pool, but you want a good coating on the entire pan. Mix all ingredients together. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 until done. 45-ish minutes. Test with a toothpick if unsure.
Reheats well in the microwave. Recipe easily halves--use a square cake pan.

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Unrelated, joyous news: I am an idiot! The bodice fits fine! It was late last night when I tried it on, and for reasons still unbeknownst to me, I folded under the front bands. I shouldn't have. When I leave them out, as they are intended to be, it fits fine. Yippee!