Mexican Tamale PieOct. 27th

This tasty dish reminds us of a favorite classic – Sheppard’s Pie. Think taco base with a creamy polenta top. To keep it kid friendly, we don’t add a lot of spice. Want more heat? Try adding Food For Thought’s Righteous Chipotle Hot Sauce – wow! This meal is hearty and will feed a family of four with leftovers for lunch. Be sure to check out the Recipe Kit.

Radical Homemaker Quick Tip
Dry beans are easy to use (as long as you plan ahead). Place the beans in a large pot of water. Make sure the water level is three inches above beans. Cover the pot and soak overnight. In the morning…drain the beans, rinse well, return to pot and cover with fresh water. Bring beans to a boil. Then, reduce heat and cook over medium-high heat for 60-90 minutes or until beans are tender. Drain, rinse and use.

Time Savers
Make the whole bag of beans and use in another dish during the week. Weekly menu planning is extremely helpful. Keep it posted so you don’t have to ask yourself, “What should I make for dinner tonight.”

Cooked beans also freeze well. So make a big batch and freeze for later use.

Use This
For the polenta topping…
4 cups water
1 tablespoon Eden French Celtic Sea Salt
2 cups Farmer Ground Polenta
4 tablespoons organic butter

For the meat filling…
2 tablespoons organic butter
1 small-medium organic onion, chopped
2 cloves organic garlic, minced
1 pound pasture raised, farm fresh ground beef or turkey
1 tablespoon Simply Organic Coriander
1 tablespoon Simply Organic Cumin
2 cups Cayuga Pure Organics Black Beans, cooked (2/3 cup dry beans = 2 cups cooked)
1 jar The Brooklyn Salsa Company - Manhattan The Pure
Salt to taste
½ cup farm fresh cheese, grated (optional)

Do This
1. Start by making the polenta first. Place water and salt in a medium-large pot and bring to a rolling boil.
2. Remove pot from heat (shut heat off). Whisk in polenta – do this slowly to avoid clumping.
3. Add butter to polenta, mix well. Cover and put back on the still warm burner (heat off).
4. Melt butter in a large pan over low heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté 5-7 minutes until onions are soft and garlic is just starting to brown.
5. Raise heat to medium. Add beef or turkey and cook until meat is done. (I usually don’t strain the beef – grass fed beef seems to have a lot less fat resulting in a lot less grease. If you find it to have a lot of grease – strain it.)
6. Add coriander, cumin, black beans and salsa. Mix well and cook an additional 5 minutes to heat through.
7. Stir polenta.
8. Pour meat mixture into a casserole dish and cover with polenta. Or layer it with a polenta top and bottom with meat filling in the middle.
9. Top polenta with farm fresh cheese if desired. Bake at 350° for ten minutes. (Skip this part if not adding cheese).
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