I think I’m like most, when the weather starts to shift, so do my actions and meal planning. I want to stay indoors with music playing, spend countless hours in the kitchen whipping up something or other and just down right “nest”. Well, the weather is definitely shifting in the Pacific Northwest over the past couple of weeks and although I am crash dieting and exercising for our trip to Hawaii, I’m still dreaming about Pumpkin Bread, Crock-Pot meals and beautifying the inside of my home. Today is no exception. I wanted to get lots of quarter-round installed today, but work has me focusing on it instead, but that’s not going to stop me from tossing together some good low-cal crock pot fare. On tonights table will be the kids’ all time fave – Turkey Tamale Pie. It’s an easy one to make and only takes 4 hours in the Crock, not the whole day like some others. We’ll probably do some sliced avocados and lite sour cream for toppers. Sounds good already! Enjoy!
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1 lb ground turkey
1 lg onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups corn, frozen or fresh
3/4 cup sliced olives
3 tbsp taco seasoning (recipe below)
1 can black beans, drained
1 15 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp salt
3/4 cup corn meal
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cheddar cheese
sour cream, avocado, cilantro – or any of your other favorite toppings.
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instructions:
1) in a medium sized skillet, saute the onion and garlic over medium-high heat until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the ground turkey and saute until cooked through. Add the taco seasoning, beans, olives, corn, tomatoes and salt. Stir to incorporate. Add to the crock pot.
2) mix together the cornmeal, milk and egg and pour over the meat mixture.
3) cook in the Crock Pot for 3-4 hours. In the last 5 minutes, add the cheddar cheese and cook until melted. Serve with your favorite garnishes.
Serves 4-6
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
instructions:
1) mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.