Fiesta Tamale Pie

Today's recipe:

Fiesta Tamale Pie

This recipe is from John's Uncle Brent Taylor. Originally a 'meaty' recipe I have changed it to be veggie friendly. I do this with lots of recipes as most recipes are easy to change if you know what to sub.

What you'll need:

*2TB cooking oil

*1 medium sized onion, chopped

*1 clove garlic, minced or pressed (or garlic seasoning to taste)

*1 12 oz can black beans (also you can add tofu crumbels as an additional protein)

*1 cup cheese (of any kind that you like)

*1 can (28 oz) tomatoes

*1 can (1 lb) whole kernal corn, drained

*1 TB chili powder

*½ teaspoon oregano

*½ teaspoon ground cumin

*2 eggs, lightly beaten

*1 cup milk (regular or soy)

*1 cup corn meal

*1 ½ cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat.
   
2. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft.
   
3. Add in beans
   
4. Stir in tomatoes (break up with a spoon) and their liquid, corn, chili powder, oregano, cumin.
   
   
   
5. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cheese.
   
6. Spread mixture in a shallow 3 pt. casserole or 9x13 baking dish.
   
7. In a bowl, combine eggs and milk. Stir in corn meal.
   
8. Sprinkle top with cheese.
9. Spoon evenly over bean mixture, making sure corn meal is well distributed.
   
10. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is set and lightly browned.
    

Makes six servings

Notes:
*this makes great lunch leftovers

My vegetarian story

I became a vegetarian at age 7. At such a young age most kids do not understand were their food comes from. I was unique in this as I grew up on a farm and was constantly reminded were my food came from, my "pets". At age 7 I had a pet lamb, named LaVar, that I had raised from a baby. One day my parents told me that he was going on a ride. When he came back from the ride my parents showed me the box of meat and said this is your lamb. This was shocking and to much and I then began to understood any time I was eating meat I was eating something that had been alive and been a "pet" to me. From that point on I no longer wanted to have anything to do with meat.

At that time vegetarians were few and far between. My parents didn't know how to deal with my new diet and forced me to eat meat for a while until they no longer could deal with my stubbornness. From then on till I graduated from high school and "left the nest" I was relegated to eating side dishes such as corn, potatoes. My parents were of this generation were super was meat, vegetable, and bread. It made for a pretty boring diet and when I left for college I was excited to finally begin to learn to cook meals. Because while my mom let me cook she only allowed me to bake- cookies, cakes, etc.

In those years since I left the nest I have continue to broaden my horizons about food. I experiment constantly and love to try new foods. I feel that my knowledge needs to be shared with the world as most vegetarian cooking is quite in accessible with "strange ingredients" and complicated directions. Its not hard to be vegetarian, its not a boring diet, and it is so tasty!

I decided to start this blog because I am always being asked well what do you eat? Tofu?
Sometimes yes, I do eat tofu but I eat so much more then that. You don't have to be vegetarian to enjoy my recipes you just have to like good food. I hope you enjoy what a vegetarian eats!