Mexican Cornbread...Sans Corn, of course

Mexican Cornbread was a staple in my mom's kitchen. It was one of my sister's favorites. Similar to a tamale pie, but not pasty. The cornbread was fluffy on top. Wow. So is this. I can't believe I never tried this as a low carb casserole. I've missed so much!

This recipe does not have several of the things my mom's version has. No creamed corn. Not necessary. No salsa, but diced tomatoes instead to keep it a little drier. No packaged taco seasoning filled with MSG. No cornbread mix either.  It does have spiced ground beef, tomatoes and pepper, and cheese! Any recipe with cheese is a winner in my book.

The "cornbread" is a cheesy quickbread made with coarsely ground almond meal and golden flax. It works!!! I was inspired by my cheese bread topped chili in a jar from the February newsletter. This recipe is a little different, and oh so delicious.

Mexican Cornbread sans Corn...and Carbs

Base:
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp minced dried onions
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp coconut oil
1 green bell pepper
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Cornbread topping:
1/2 cup coarsely ground almond meal
1/2 cup golden flax meal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 tbsp olive oil

Brown ground beef, breaking it into small crumbles. Drain fat and place in a medium bowl. Stir in chili powder, cumin, onions, garlic salt and garlic powder. Drain the liquid from the canned tomatoes and stir them into the beef. Place the beef into an 8 inch square baking dish.

Slice the bell pepper into bite sized chunks. Saute in coconut oil 5-7 minutes until soft. Layer the peppers over the beef in the dish. Top with 1/2 cup cheese.

To prepare the bread, combine almond meal, flax meal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, cheese and olive oil. Stir until no large lumps remain. Spread the batter over the meat and topping in the casserole dish. Smooth the top of the batter with a spatula or large spoon until it covers the meat completely and touches the sides. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden and the center is set. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

537 calories    4 g net carbs   33 g  fat   43 g  protein

This is perfect with a small guacamole salad on the side. Some of the juices from the meat layer bubbled up along the edges and saturated the bread topping, but it was not soggy at all, just a little darker. I baked mine just a little too long. I seem to be expert at not hearing my oven timer go off. What makes me able to focus among the mass chaos at school also means I don't notice things like a few oven beeps. That's what I get for working on the crockpot recipe while this was in the oven. Multi-tasking is a prep day necessity, but I still manage to mess it up once in a while. As anyone who knows me can tell you, I prefer to have baked goods a bit over done rather than under baked. You might want to check yours at 35 minutes just in case.

This would be an excellent dish for a potluck dinner or to take to a sick friend. It is going to store well, reheat well and travel is no mess. Bet your carby eaters would like it. If not, make some extra of the meat and let them make their own soft tacos.




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