Mexican Cornbread Skillet

Have ya ever had a craving for tacos? I sure have. Like, daily. Sometimes even twice a day. And that doesn’t include all those times that I would buy Taco Bell tacos and stick ’em in the fridge for breakfast and eat them icy cold. Look, I was pregnant. I considered cold tacos a delicacy. It’s the truth.

Anyway, I like tacos. My daughter likes cornbread. Sometimes she asks for cornbread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes she asks for a corndog just so she can eat all the corbread off the dog and then wave her hotdog around on the stick and shout about how it’s naked. Sometimes she makes me giggle.

Every now and then I like to make us both happy and serve this cornbread skillet. I usually call it cornbread pie though, because then my kids love me more. Pie for dinner means I’m the best mom ever. True story.

This is simple to whip up, but it does take a bit of time to bake. Totally worth it though, as most foods that contain taco meat, cheese, and green chiles are.

Mexican Cornbread Skillet

For the filling:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped (optional)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped (1/2 cup of salsa would be great if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese
• 1 packet taco seasoning (or your own recipe for seasoning mix)
• drizzle of olive oil

Drizzle some olive oil in a large skillet and heat it over medium heat. Saute the onions and bell peppers for a few minutes and then add the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces just as you would for tacos. Cook until no longer pink and then drain. Stir in the tomatoes and taco seasoning. Remove from the heat and get to work on the cornbread.

For the cornbread:

• 1 3/4 cups cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/3 cups milk (buttermilk, if you have it!)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup corn (frozen or canned work, fresh is best!)
• 1 small can green chiles
• butter, for greasing the skillet

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a cast iron skillet with butter. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl crack the eggs and stir in the milk. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix in the corn and green chiles. Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes to soften the cornmeal.

Pour half of the cornbread mixture into the bottom of your greased skillet. Spoon the meat mixture on top and cover with both cheeses. Spread on the remaining cornbread mixture. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the cornbread is golden brown and cooked through.