Family Friendly Cooking: Tamale Muffins

Here's an exciting family friendly recipe that makes a great make-ahead toddler meal.  Freeze in foil lined muffin liners for an easy meal in a pinch.  Inspired by one of my favorite Mexican dishes, it's interesting, flavorful, and so easy to make - sure to be a croud pleaser!  It takes about half of a batch of taco meat, so you can use leftovers from the night before, or make tacos and taco salads with the extra from this dish.  Here's how Mama makes it:

Tamale Muffins

Ingredients: (makes 12 muffins)
- 2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 c. milk
- 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
- 2 T. taco seasoning (or taco packet in a pinch)
- 1 can kidney or pinto beans
- 1 can sliced black olives
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1/3 c. water
-  1/3 c. shredded cheese
serving suggestion:  top with salsa (we used a peach version of this salsa)

(8 WW pts per muffin)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium high heat, until browned and cooked through.  Drain the fat, then add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened. 

2.  Add beans, olives, seasoning, and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high and cook for 10-15 minutes until veggies are cooked through and most of the liquid has evaporated.

3.  Meanwhile, make cornbread batter according to box directions.

4.  To assemble the muffins:  Using foil lined muffin liners (works best when freezing leftovers), spoon in a heaping tablespoonful of cornbread, a spoonful of meat, then another 1 T. cornbread batter (make sure the top is completely covered in cornbread).  Sprinkle small amount of cheese over tops of the muffins, then bake for 15 minutes until tops are golden.

5.  Allow to cool for about 10 minutes; serve with salsa.

so hard to wait for these to cool!

printable recipe