This dish has been a family favorite, as long as I can remember. No one seems to know exactly what it should be called, so the closest I could come to getting an accurate name is Mexican or Cowboy Casserole. It's an excellent dish in my opinion.
The ingredients you will need for this casserole are:
* 1/2 pound of ground beef
* 1 can of whole corn
* 1 can of ranch style or chili beans
* 1 can of diced tomatoes
* 1/2 cup of chopped white onions
* 1 corn meal mix (and whatever the package calls for)
What I do is take a large skillet and slightly oil it and start browning the ground beef on a medium to medium high stove top setting. While its is browning good, I will add the 1/2 a cup of chopped white onions into the skillet with the ground beef and brown it all really well. After the ground beef and onions are browned I will then add the can of ranch style beans, the can of whole corn and the can of diced tomatoes into the skillet. I stir this for about 5 minutes on a medium setting in the skillet, with the ground beef and onions. While that is cooking I get out a glass casserole dish for baking. I use a spatula and pour the ground beef and beans, corn, tomatoes and onions into the casserole baking dish. I like using the shorter, deeper casserole dishes instead of the wide and long ones.
After I have done that, In a medium sized, plastic mixing bowl, I mix my cornbread batter up. Its a 6 oz bag of cornmeal that I mix egg and milk with. Once I have made the cornbread batter, I take that and pour it on top of the beef and beans and tomatoes and corn in the casserole dish and spread it evenly across the top of the casserole. After that, I normally cook the casserole on about 375 to 400 degrees in the oven for the amount of time the cornbread mix suggests. Once the cornbread on top of the casserole has started to brown and is cooked well it is ready. Here's where it gets good, in my opinion. I dish up some in a plate and top it all with, shredded cheeses, salsa or picante sauce, sour cream and maybe some black olives or Jalapenos! This is one of my all time favorite meals. I hope you enjoy making it and eating it as much as I do!
