Another Successful Recipe Renovation! Sloppy Joe leftovers into Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie
2 cups leftover sloppy joe filling
1, 8.5 ounce package Corn Muffin Mix (I prefer Jiffy brand)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1, 15.25 ounce can corn, drained - divided
1 teaspoon Taco Seasoning - divided
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 dozen black olives, quartered
1/2 cup pre-shredded Mexican blend  cheese

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
In small bowl whisk together egg, 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning, and melted butter - add corn muffin mix and stir together, adding 1/2 can of drained corn kernels. Mix until combined and set aside.

In medium bowl combine leftover sloppy joe filling with quartered olives, 1/2 can corn kernels, 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning, ground cumin - stir to combine. Place filling in bottom of small casserole dish.

Pour muffin mixture atop meat filling. Using back of spoon, smooth out mix, mounding slightly towards outer edge of casserole. Muffins tend to dome as they cook - to compensate, keep the center of the mix thinner in the center so it will raise evenly. 
Bake for 30 minutes or until center of corn muffin top is cooked all the way through (test with a toothpick).

Remove from oven, cover with shredded cheese and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until cheese is nicely golden. Let set for approximately 5 minutes before serving. I promise, no one will recognize that this dish was once Sloppy Joe's.

Silly kids, Sloppy Joe's aren't just for kids!

Did you know you can make sloppy joe's without a package mix or a can? They are fresh, you know exactly what you're eating and you can tweak them to suit your tastes. Here is the "guideline" I use:

Sloppy Joe's Done Your Way
1 pound ground beef
1 cup sweet Vidallia onoin, chopped
1 small shallot, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1, 6 ounce can tomato paste
6 ounces Cola
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup  packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1 teaspoon Gourmet Garden Chili Pepper Spice Blend or;
   1/2 teaspoon chili powder *optional
Salt & Pepper to taste.
Kaiser rolls or toast to serve on. (Tonight I used Cracked Wheat Sourdough bread, lightly toasted.)

In a large skillet over med-hi temp, cook beef, onion, shallot, and garlic until beef is browned and onion is slightly translucent. Drain off excess fat if there is any.

In a separate bowl mix together to combine; tomato paste, Cola (I use the empty tomato paste can as a measuring vessel for the cola), chili sauce, ketchup, quick-cooking rolled oats, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and Chili Pepper sauce. Add to skillet with beef mixture.

Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, stirring occasionally for approximately 30 minutes until sauce is thickened and a bit carmalized. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on whatever type of bread you desire.

I have also made these substituting the cola with red wine and eliminating the yellow mustard. You can also sweeten these up by adding 1 tablespoon maple syrup. If you wan't to Mexi-fy them...add some chipotle seasoning. Any way you look at it, these are beautiful and much richer than any prepared sloppy joe mix available at the market.  A slice of sharp cheddar cheese added on top fancied the sandwiches up a bit - both in eye appeal and flavor.

More stretching techniques...

Working with leftovers can be challenging. First of all, if you're like me, you don't look forward to eating the same meal two nights in a row. Secondly, there is often a smidgeon of food left - you hate to throw it out but there's not quite enough for another meal. This is where creativity comes in handy.

For today's dinner I had 1 cup of leftover taco-seasoned shredded beef and 1/4 of an avocado that needed using. (We had taco salads the night before).  So I nuked the shredded beef until it was heated through and stirred in approximately 1 cup pre-shredded Mexican blend cheese. Spread this mixture over one side each of two spinach-flour tortilla wraps - rolled them up,  individually, and heated them in my paninin press until just slightly browned.

I smashed up the leftover quarter of avocado with a pinch of salt and added 1/2 cup sour cream - stirring together until smooth.

Piled some shredded lettuce in the center of the plate. Topped that with the cooked wraps, which I had cut each into thirds. Added a few leftover salad veggies - topped it off with my avocado-sour cream dressing and we had a beautiful dinner that in no way resembled leftovers.

I so love to play with my food!