Chipotle Turkey Cornbread Pie

This recipe is a variation of the chicken taco cornbread pie. I saw this recipe being made on Food Network, but it was done in a baking dish. I really like making these types of recipes on the cast iron skillet because you have fewer pots to dirty and your cast iron skillet also serves as your serving platter. Since the chipotle gives this pie a spicier and smoky taste, a cool, not-too-sweet dry rose will pair up nicely with this dish.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound, lean ground turkey
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (8-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 chipotle chiles, finely diced, plus 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce, from can chipotle in adobo
• 1 cup grated Cheddar
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 (8.5-ounce) package cornbread mix
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the ground turkey, the onions, green peppers, and garlic and cook until the turkey is no longer pink and is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain off any excess fat and sprinkle the meat mixture with the cumin.

Add the beans, tomatoes, chiles and adobo sauce to the skillet and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until heated through and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from the heat and stir in the cheese and cilantro. Press down mixture with back of spoon to make an even, compact layer. Set aside.

Combine corn bread mix, milk and egg in medium bowl; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter evenly over turkey mixture to cover completely.

Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until corn bread is golden brown. Let the tamale pie stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.