Turkey Cornbread Casserole

Remember the crazy wicked awesome turkey deal I told you about last week? Well, I used my first frozen meal sized portion of turkey last night for dinner. I made up a new recipe and (lucky for me) I redeemed myself after the fish fiasco. I read a recipe for a chili topped with cornbread in a magazine of my mother in law's a while back. I had been thinking about that recipe and so, inspired by it, I created this Turkey Cornbread Casserole.



Turkey Cornbread Casserole

For filling:

2-3 cups cooked and chopped turkey (chicken would be fine too)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 medium potatoes, chopped into small pieces

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 cup cauliflower, in small pieces

1/2 hot pepper seeded and chopped

1/2 green pepper, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 cup frozen corn

2 cups cooked beans or 1 can beans drained and rinsed (black beans would have been better but I only had red beans that were already cooked)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 can milk

1 jar green sauce

1/2 tbsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

salt

pepper



For cornbread topping:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 egg

2 cups frozen corn

1 cup grated cheddar cheese



Wow - after typing out all the ingredients, I realize this recipe comes across as being much more involved and difficult than it actually is. I listed everything I used, but it would be just as good with any combination of veggies that you choose to use. I think a package of frozen, chopped veggies would work wonderfully. I just needed to use up some stuff in my fridge so that's what I put in. I would say that the corn, carrots, onion and hot pepper are crucial - the rest you could change up as you desire.



Directions:



1. Preheat oven to 375-400. Cook chopped potatoes and carrots in the microwave until soft (the cornbread will cook much faster than the veggies and these are what will take the longest to cook, so this will speed up the process).



2. Combine chopped turkey and all vegetables in a medium roast pan or casserole dish.



3. Season with salt and pepper.



4. In a small bowl, whisk together both cans of cream of chicken soup, milk, green sauce, cumin and garlic powder. Pour over turkey and veggies. Stir as much as possible (if the dish is really full, it might be hard to stir. Don't worry too much, the soup mixture will make it's way through the casserole as it cooks.)



5. Place casserole covered in the oven to begin heating (15-20 mins) before you put the topping on.



6. Meanwhile...In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter and egg. Pour over flour mixture. Pour corn kernels over the milk mixture. Stir until just combined.



7. Spoon in 6-8 dollops over the filling. Sprinkle with cheese.



8. Bake for 25-30 minutes until topping is golden and no longer doughy underneath.



Although the lengthy list of ingredients and detailed instructions probably make this recipe seem time consuming and tricky, it wasn't. The chopping is the most work that you have to do. Other than that, it's just pouring the soup over, mixing up the cornbread and waiting. The best part was that I had all the ingredients in my house already.



We both really really really loved this and I will definitely be making it again. It was a bit spicy, a lot creamy and sooooo delicious! We ate it on it's own although it would be great paired with a side salad and would make a wonderful potluck dish. It made a lot. I'm guessing it would probably feed 6-8 people ... or, in our case, 2 people 4 times. :)



Enjoy and head over to The Grocery Cart Challenge for other great recipes.