I stumbled across this recipe on epicurious a few weeks ago while searching for ways to use hamburger meat. I'm always trying to get meat into Punkin's diet since we still eat mainly vegetarian and I want to be sure he's getting enough iron. And in all my experience eating yummy meat, I have far less experience actually preparing it. The following recipe for Polenta Tamale Pie turned out to be simple and delicious. It is by no means gourmet, nor does it have a sufficient serving of vegetables. And if your lucky enough to eat or know how to make real tamale pie, it's probably a far cry from the real thing. It's also so easy to manipulate and add whatever veggies you choose, either in the dish itself, or on the side. I've made a few changes from the original recipe (changes are in purple, and I omitted the chicken broth), but like I said, you can't really mess up this simple meal, so feel free to make lots of changes yourself!

polenta tamale pie

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
(Optional: 1 red bell pepper, chopped)
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 16-ounce bottle spicy salsa
1 15- to 16-ounce can refried beans or black beans
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (parsley works too!)

2 1-pound rolls prepared polenta, sliced into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or a mix of cheddar, mozzarella, jack, etc)

Preparation

Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Sauté onion until soft (5 mins) and add other vegetables (red pepper) if using. Add beef and sauté over medium-high heat until no longer pink, breaking up meat with back of fork, about 3 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin; stir 1 minute. Add salsa and beans. Simmer until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Mix in 1/4 cup cilantro; season with salt and pepper.

Oil 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Place half of polenta in dish. Top with sauce and 1 1/2 cups cheese, then remaining polenta, cheese and cilantro. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with foil; chill.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake freshly assembled pie, uncovered, until heated through and sauce bubbles, about 35 minutes, or bake refrigerated pie, covered, 20 minutes, then uncover and bake until heated through, about 35 minutes.