Tamale Casserole

Last Friday's dinner...

Tamale Casserole
(please note, I doubled the recipe in the pictures but am providing the regular recipe)

The Cast of Ingredients:
Oh the smell of the sauteing veggies...And then the simmering stuff with the veggies...
Then the dish of goodness...
Ingredients:
4 tsp canola oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 red onions, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, deveined and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound ground skinless turkey breast
1 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 cup frozen corn kernels
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 tsp hot Mexican chili powder
2/3 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions:

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Saute the bell pepper, onions, jalapeno and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the turkey and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until browned, 5-8 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, corn, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the chili powder; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, stirring once or twice, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Transfer to an 8" square baking dish.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil. In a medium bowl, whisk the cornmeal into 1 cup water. Slowly pour the cornmeal into the boiling water in a thin steady stream, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes back to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to form large bubbles, about 5 minutes. Spread over the turkey so that it is completely covered. Bake 25 minutes, then sprinkle with the cheese and bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4
Nutritional Info: 293 calories, 8g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 43g cholesterol, 531mg sodium, 35g total carbohydrates, 4g dietary fiber, 22g protein, 122mg calcium. Points per serving: 6

Notes from the Peanut Gallery:
-I would recommend draining the skillet of some of the excess liquid after browning the turkey. The casserole was a little runny.
-I think I made the cornmeal part wrong. I ended up with blobs of cornmeal, which was fine, just not how it should have turned out. But rereading the recipe I realized that I used only about 1 cup of water total when there should have been 2. Oops.
-For more spice, leave some of the seeds from the jalapeno and use the full 1 tsp of hot Mexican chili powder.

Observations during dinner:
-Dad cleaned his plate. Good job Dad!
-Chris added salsa and sour cream to his. I waited until he added the sour cream and ate some to tell him it was fat free sour cream.
-Coleman and Paige said it needed more seasoning, aka spice.
-Kaitlin. Can't remember what she thought. I think she complained of the extra liquid.
-Mom... can't remember what she thought either.

Recipe from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook, 1998. Page 137.