Mexican Cornbread Casserole

This is an easy weeknight dish that is made with a boxed cornbread mix and taco seasoning.  You'll spend just a few minutes putting it together and then letting it bake while you prepare a salad to serve first. It easily feeds a crowd as the main dish (probably 6-8 adults with a side salad). You can easily reduce the recipe by half if you prefer.  

Julian's Mexican Cornbread Casserole

A protein rich meal.

You can modify the ingredients to the meat mixture as you see fit. You could use a can of Ro-Tel (canned diced tomatoes mixed with green chili peppers and spices) instead of the individual items I've listed. You could also add some other canned or frozen vegetables, or some leftover pieces of vegetable you may have in the refrigerator. Pre-cook any fresh veggies with the onions to make sure they get tender as the completed dish is not in the oven very long.

Cookware: I use my 17-inch All-Clad very large 'mother of all pans" for this recipe. It's great for one-pan meals and cooking for a crowd, and you can just put the finishing ingredients (the cheese and corn bread) right on it and put the entire thing in the oven as it doesn't have a long handle. But today I transferred it to a baking dish as it has a snap on lid and fits in my insulated carrier for taking to gatherings. 

A thin layer of cornbread provides a sweet topping
to the more spicy meat, been and vegetable mixture.

Ingredients (serves 8-10 adults)

1 pound 80-90% ground beef

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, seeded, stemmed and chopped
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes (or Ro-Tel seasoned tomatoes) drained

1 10-ounce jar of green chiles and/or jalapeños, drained and chopped
10 ounces canned corn, drained (substitute frozen)
2 15-ounce cans kidney beans (dark and/or light red), drained & rinsed

2 ounces (about 2 packets) taco seasoning mix

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

15-16 ounces boxed cornbread mix, (2 boxes of Jiffy, or 1 15 oz box of Famous Dave's)
    Ingredients on the box of cornbread mix: usually 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup water

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease, or spray with cooking spray, a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add a little oil and brown meat. Stir in the onions and bell pepper, and cook for another 3-4 minutes until they are nearly tender. Add the canned vegetables/beans and cook to just warm through, another 2-3 minutes. Add taco seasoning and stir to combine.

Pour into baking dish. Prepare cornbread batter according to package directions. Top meat mixture with cheese. Pour cornbread batter over cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cornbread is lightly browned and the ingredients are bubbling around the edges. 

Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes prior to serving.