I wasn’t quite sure what to name tonight’s meal.  It was sort of a hodge podge, throw together meal with ingredients that I had in the freezer and cupbard.  But what turned out (Beef Corn and Broccoli Cornbread Pot Pie…kind of a long name AND “Beef’ sounded somehow more sophisticated than ‘Hamburger’ in the title) was a DEFINATE winner!  I will most surely be making this again!  It is one of those warm, delicious, comfort foods.  Even as I am stuffed-full writing this, I am thinking about snitching a few bites off of the plate that I made for my husband that is in the fridge.  In fact, during dinner I texted him to see if he was eating where he was and to see if we needed to save any for him…I know, bad, right?!  I did save him plenty though, don’t worry!

So, if you get in the mood for a twist on the traditional pot-pie, give this cornbread pot pie a try!  Feel free to substitute any meat or other kinds of veggies instead of what I made here, like I said I just used what I had on hand.

Beef, Corn and Broccoli Filling:

1 ½ pounds hamburger

1 onion, chopped fine

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 green pepper, chopped fine

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

A few squirts of Aminos All-Purpose Seasoning

3 potatoes, small cubes

1 can corn, drained

Broccoli, chopped in small pieces (2-ish cups)

Salt and pepper and parsley to taste

2 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock

¼ c flour (I used whole wheat, but All Purpose works fine too)

Cornbread Pot Pie Topping:

¾ c cornmeal

1 ¼ c water (or milk if you don’t have a person with dairy allergies in your house!)

1 c whole wheat flour (All Purpose works fine too)

½ T baking powder

½ t salt

1/3 c sugar

1 egg

¼ c oil

*Add hamburger, onion, garlic, pepper and celery to a large cast iron skillet.

Cook until hamburger is almost browned and then add potatoes, corn and broccoli.

Cook until meat is all browned and veggies start to soften.

At some point during the cooking process add Aminos All-Purpose Seasoning (a few squirts/swirls around the pan should do), salt, pepper, and a good seasoning of parsley.

Next add 2 cups of the chicken/beef/or veggie stock and ¼ c of flour and mix well and let bubble a minute or two.  Turn heat off.

To make the cornbread topping first whisk together in a bowl cornmeal and water (or milk) and let sit at least 5 minutes. (I did this even before making the hamburger filling.)

I know that it may sound strange to mix the cornmeal with the liquid first, and then to let it sit…but this is must! The end product of the cornbread ends up being moist and so not-fall-apart-crumbly! Remember, let this sit for at least 5 minutes!

In a separate bowl mix together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder.

After the cornmeal has sat for a while in the liquid add in egg and oil and stir well.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.

Pour/spread evenly over hamburger/veggie filling.

I understand that not everyone has a GIGANTIC cast iron skillet like this. Feel free to transfer into whatever baking dish you want to use, like a 9 x 13 pan. Also, because I used such a large pan to bake everything in, the topping ended up being thinner. If you want a thicker cornbread crust and are using a gigantic pan like this, double the cornbread recipe. Or, if you don’t need to feed as many mouths as we do, scale it down and put everything in a smaller casserole dish which will end up making your crust thicker!

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, or until cornbread is set and starts to brown. Enjoy! -Shelley.