Skillet Tamale Pie

This was surprisingly delicious and simple to make. I might add some corn next time, or maybe a little bit of cooked rice.  A great weeknight meal that will serve 4-6 people.

The recipe calls for a store-bought cornbread, but I had a box of Jiffy cornbread mix on hand already so I just made my own and crumbled it right in the pan after cooling slightly. For the canned chipotle chiles in adobo, ATK recommends the Embasa brand, which I was able to find at my local Big Y store. I just put the whole can of chiles in a mini-food processor and pureed. The recipe only calls for 1 teaspoon so to preserve the rest, I measured by teaspoon-sized portions onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and froze. Once solid, just peel the chili puree off the paper and pop into a freezer bag for use in future recipes.

10 ounces cornbread, crumbled (store bought or made fresh) about 2 1/2 cups

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese 

1 Tbs. canola (or vegetable) oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

2 16oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 10oz cans Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained, 1/3 cup juice reserved

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

S&P

Pre-heat oven to 450. Combine crumbled cornbread with 1 cup of the cheese and season with S&P. Set aside. 

Heat oil in a 12-inch, ovenproof skillet. Cook onion and chipotle until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add beef and cook until no longer pink, 5 minutes or so. Add beans, tomatoes, and reserved tomato juice and cook until thickened, another 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, the remaining cheese, and season the whole mixture with S&P. 

Sprinkle cornbread mixture over skillet. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with remaining fresh cilantro sprinkled over the top.

Quick Tomato Sauce

When Jon and I were dating, and Jon still had cable tv, I used to get early every Saturday morning and drive to his house just so we could watch Jaime Oliver on the Food Network. Sadly, we only have $5 cable now, so no more food network and no more Jaime Oliver on TV, that means stalking his website for recipes instead! I love how he describes and instructs on how to make things, so I'm leaving the recipe exactly how he posts it (minus the pasta instructions.) Click on the title of the recipe for a link to his website. I serve this pasta sauce with fresh pappardelle pasta.

extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
½–1 fresh red chili, halved, deseeded and finely sliced  (I just red pepper flakes instead)
a small bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked
14.5 oz can san marzano whole tomatoes, chopped (with juice)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

pasta (preferably fresh pappardelle)

serves 2
Homemade pasta sauce is so easy, and you can sling it together in around the time it takes to open a jar and heat it up.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a good few lugs of olive oil. When the oil’s hot, add the garlic and chili and fry until lightly colored. Drop in most of the basil – stand back as it will crackle and spit in the oil – and then, after a few seconds, add the tomatoes. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. You’ll end up with a chunky sauce – if you like it smoother, pass the sauce through a coarse sieve. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Stir the pasta into the warm sauce. If it’s a bit thick, add a few spoonfuls of the cooking water to loosen it up. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the reserved basil leaves and serve immediately.

Ultimate Banana Bread

I promise, this will be the BEST banana bread you've ever had. This is an America's Test Kitchen recipe (if you know me, you know I'm obsessed with ATK.)  I'm sharing the link as well because they provide some more detailed pictures and notes.

I always have frozen bananas in the freezer, I let them get overly black, peel, and thrown them in freezer bags. You can substitute 5 of the very ripe bananas in this recipe for 5 frozen bananas, just thaw in the fridge for a day or so ahead of time. I've also used a mix of a few frozen and a few  fresh, just microwave the fresh for a minute or so less than called for.  You will still need 1 fresh banana for the top if you use frozen. 

I haven't made any changes to this recipe, it really is perfect. I leave out the walnuts but I bet they would be great too. Typically, my bread takes 55-60 minutes, keep a close eye on it and check frequently with a wood skewer, there should be few to no crumbs on it.

The bread really is best the day it's baked because the crust is still crunchy and the inside so moist, but it will stay very moist for several days wrapped tightly, if it lasts that long! 

• 1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 6 large very ripe bananas (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.

2. Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife. Microwave on high power until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer bananas to fine-mesh strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cup liquid).

3. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

4. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Slice remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1½-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over loaf.

5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.