Tamale Pie With Salad.

I came across this recipe for tamale pie over at Southern Plate last week and immediately added it to my menu plan.  Ground “beef,” Rotel, corn, French-fried onions, with a cornbread topping AND cheese (we used Daiya pepperjack) over that?  What’s not to love?  Paired with a jaunty little salad, it was a complete meal.  And a good one, at that!

We both loved the filling of the tamale pie – the flavors mingled beautifully together, and the taco seasoning that I added to the beef really set it off and made it taste like a big ol’ burrito, laid out flat.  The Jiffy cornbread mix we used spread over the top nicely, and while cooking I learned something new – when one is out of eggs, one can use a tablespoon of mayo per egg to replace it.  We only had Vegenaise on hand, and so I added it instead of high-test mayo, and the end result was still fantastic!  You never would’ve known I hadn’t used eggs. I’ll be filing this little tidbit away for later, to be sure.

The one thing I might do differently when I make this again (for that is a “when,” not an “if”) is use only one box of cornbread mix – or even forgo it altogether.  I found the sweetness of the cornbread to not gel quite perfectly with the other flavors in the dish, though LeeLee vehemently disagreed and has advocated for the cornbread topping to stay.  That’s why I think I’ll use only one of the two boxes next time; a nice compromise!  And who knows, maybe a little less cornbread will do the trick with the flavor profile.

In salad news, I also created a new dressing tonight – a creamy vinaigrette.  I’ll include the recipe below!

Suffice it to say, the entire dinner was great (even with the overabundance of cornbread)!  I will definitely keep this in the menu rotation.

And now the recipe:

CREAMY VINAIGRETTE

What you’ll need:

¼-½ cup mayonnaise (we used Vegenaise)

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

In a half-pint jar/measuring cup/serving bowl, blend all the ingredients together with a fork until smooth, and let stand until salad time!

:)