Tamale Casserole

Last night I tried out a recipe that I saw on Taste and Tell for Chicken Tamale Casserole. She got the recipe from the November 2008 issue of Cooking Light. It was super easy to throw together and I thought it was quite good. I liked the contrast between the spicy enchilada sauce and the sweetness from the cornbread and creamed corn. Kevin thought it was a slightly odd combination, but thought it tasted good still. I didn't give any to Carson since the enchilada sauce is probably a little too spicy for him still. I was able to use up lots of items from my pantry that had been sitting around for quite a while - enchilada sauce, creamed corn, corn muffin mix, and diced green chilies; as well as use up some shredded meat from the freezer. I also added about a half of a pint jar of my home canned black beans that I had in the fridge. I substituted turkey for the chicken since I have quite a bit in the freezer still. I made a half-recipe and still got 6 good-sized servings out of it. I was going to make a new meal tonight, but I've decided we'll eat leftover tamale casserole (me) and shepherd's pie (Kevin) tonight instead and I'll do the cowboy stew tomorrow.

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Serves 8

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided (I used 2%)
1/3 cup milk (I used skim)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (I omitted this)
1 (14 3/4 ounce) can cream style corn
1 (8.5 ounce) box corn muffin mix
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
cooking spray
1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (I substituted turkey)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
(I had some guacamole on mine, Kevin had sour cream)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.