Chicken Tamale Casserole

So...this one's on me. I was standing in the Mexican aisle at the grocery store, picking up ingredients for this dish, courtesy of Emily Bites. I saw the can of diced chiles it called for...and then saw a can of diced jalapenos next to it. I thought, a) we like spicy food, b) I can never really taste chiles in recipes anyway, and c) go for the kick.

You bake this in two stages...I took a small bite of the corn cake layer to make sure it was set, and it had some serious heat from the jalapenos. I thought, "No big deal. The enchilada sauce, chicken, and cheese I'm about to add will offset and even it out."

Ultimately, I thought this was spicy but still delicious...however, my BF declared it too hot to eat and microwaved leftover pizza. So...I personally highly recommend this recipe, but stick with the chiles (like you would make the same mistake I did, anyway). 


I loved the sweet component from the corn muffin mix (I love me some Jiffy), and I could pretty much eat Mexican every other day/night.

Printable recipe

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can cream-style corn
1 box corn muffin mix
1 small can diced green chiles, drained
1  can enchilada sauce
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
 
Mix together ¼ cup of the cheese, the milk, egg, cumin,  corn, muffin mix and green chiles in a bowl until combined. Pour into a greased 9x13 dish and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).

Poke holes all over the surface of the corn cake with a fork. Pour the enchilada sauce over the top and spread across the surface. Sprinkle the chicken evenly across the top and follow with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting and serving.