Tamale and Corn Casserole

I have a lot of cookbooks. Let me correct myself: I have a lot of cookbooks that I have never cooked anything out of! I always purchase them with such good intentions, with plans to make many of the delicious items that cover the pages, but for some reason, I just never get around to it, and they sit and gather dust on my shelves. I have really scaled back on my habit; when I was in high school, I was constantly buying cookbooks at Ross and TJ Maxx and at rummage sales. I loved collecting them, and even had two entire shelves in my closet devoted to them, forcing my other favorite item to collect (shoes) to be forced to be kept on the floor (gasp)! I had all different genres of books, and even starting collecting really weird ones, like Miss Piggy Cooks and the Wizard of Oz cookbook! I guess cookbooks were really just another hobby for me, and still to this day I love getting in bed at night and reading through a cookbook from cover to cover. I finally got rid of most of my collection a few years back when I realized just how neglected they had been, still sitting in the moving boxes they were lovingly packed in years before. So the other night I started sifting through a book that I had bought probably two or three years ago and realized that this was another of the lonely and forgotten books on my shelf. But as I looked through it, I couldn't figure out why, there were a ton of recipes that I wanted to try, so I started marking them like crazy! On Tuesday night, I got home from work early so I decided that I was finally going to give this book a try.

I decided to try the Tamale and Corn Casserole. To many of you out there, you will look at the ingredient list and not find it to be very appealing, probably mostly in part due to the canned tamales. I myself happen to really like canned tamales and keep them on hand to make my grandma's Tamale Dip recipe. I was excited to find a new use for them. But if canned tamales are not your thing, you could easily substitute any tamale of your choice. This casserole was really easy to put together and I thought it was very tasty, although not pretty once it is served because it is a bit runny. I am a bit confused as to why it was listed in the side dishes section of the cookbook because it was hearty enough to be a meal. I would make this again, but I might tweak a few things. First of all, I would probably leave out the corn, weird I know, but I think this contributed quite a bit to how runny it was, plus you get enough corn flavor from the tamales. And secondly, I would put the green onions on top next time for a prettier presentation. This made quite a bit, so I have a lot of leftovers....but I think it is even better leftover!

Tamale and Corn Casserole

adapted from The New Holly Clegg Trim and Terrific Cookbook

2 (15 oz. each) cans Beef Tamales (I used Hormel)

1 (15 oz.) can cream style corn

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies

1/2 c. green onions, chopped

1/4 c. evaporated skim milk

1 (7 oz.) can salsa verde (I used Herdez)

1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 c. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Remove tamales from cans and wrappers, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place pieces in a single layer in the bottom of baking dish.

Open corn and pour over the tamales, covering evenly.

Spread green chilies over corn layer.

Sprinkle chopped green onions over the green chile layer.
Combine the salsa verde, evaporated milk, chili powder and cumin, whisk to combine. Pour over green onions.

Sprinkle with Monterrey Jack cheese.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until heated through, and bubbling.