Easy Tamale Casserole for Cooks Night Off!

As much as I love to cook, sometimes I just need a night off.  This tamale casserole is so easy to make that it counts as a night off.  It's so delicious that I don't feel like I'm missing out by staying home.  An added bonus is that it's still lean and healthy.  

My husband loved this so much that he has requested I make a couple for him to take up hunting to share at camp.  I was a bit surprised since it has an ingredient called polenta and not spuds :)  Not what I picture at elk camp but I'm so happy to oblige!

I use ground turkey quite often instead of ground beef.  Since the ground turkey comes in packages that are approximately 1 1/2 pounds I will fry it all up with onions and then put half of it in a Ziploc freezer bag to freeze for later use. 

These ingredients make this casserole a snap.  Frozen corn, tomato sauce, polenta, fire roasted chopped chili's and ground turkey with onions. (The cooked ground turkey and onions are in the casserole dish)  Not shown are the chili powder and Parmesan cheese.

Mix the cooked ground turkey and onions, tomato sauce, green chili's, chili powder and corn.

Pour into the casserole dish and top with sliced polenta.  I did two layers.

Sprinkle each layer with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes on 350 degrees.

Easy Tamale Casserole

3/4 - 1 pound ground turkey

1 small onion, diced

1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce

1 small can of fire roasted chili peppers, diced (mild)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 cup frozen corn

1 tube of polenta, sliced into 14 even slices (I purchase mine at Trader Joe's)

Brown the ground turkey and onions.  Add in the tomato sauce, chili peppers, chili powder, and corn. Mix well.  

Into a 2 quart casserole dish, place half of the meat mixture.  Place 7 slices of polenta over the mixture.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Then spread the remaining mixture over the cheese.  Place the remaining 7 polenta slices on top of the meat mixture.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  

BBQ Drumsticks Grilled to Flavorful Perfection!

The past few weeks, temps in our area have been cooling down quite a bit.  As you recall, this summer I was so hot that I was even cooking Enchiladas inside our air conditioned home instead of grilling on the patio.  All that has changed and I have been enjoying grilling again.

A favorite of ours is BBQ Drums. What takes these over the top is the marinade that these little drums soak in prior to grilling.

After marinating the chicken for a few hours in the refrigerator, I put them on a hot grill.

As they start to cook and get grill marks I brush on BBQ sauce and turn them every few minutes and brush with BBQ sauce again.  I do this until they are done. 

The marinade for the chicken has ginger and garlic in it.  Both of these are powerful anti-inflammatory ingredients.  When paired with a salad such a Spaghetti Salad with Garden Fresh Veggies that is also full of anti-inflammatory ingredients, you can enjoy this delicious meal with the confidence that you are truly fueling your body with whole food goodness that can calm inflammation.

Grilled BBQ Drumsticks

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons minced ginger

2 teaspoons minced garlic

12 drumsticks

BBQ sauce

Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and garlic together in a bowl.  Place chicken drums in glass dish and pour the marinade over all the drums.  Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.  Turn the drums occasionally to ensure that all the chicken gets marinated. 

Place the marinated drumsticks on the grill over medium high heat.  As they cook and begin to get grill marks (approximately 5 minutes per side) turn and let the other side cook.  After both sides have cooked and show grill marks begin basting with bbq sauce and turning every 3 minutes. I do this a couple of times on each side.  Total grilling time will be 20-25 minutes.