Tortilla-Tamale Pie

Tortilla-Tamale Pie
original recipe by Steve Tamburrino

1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tblsp taco seasoning
1 tblsp flour
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 can (16 oz) kernel corn, drained
1 cup black olives, pitted and halved
12 (5 inch) corn tortillas
8 oz shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese (I used mozzarella)

In a large skillet, brown beef and onion. Drain. Stir in garlic powder, taco seasoning and flour. Gradually add tomato sauce, beef broth and corn. Bring to a boil. Stir and reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add olives. Lightly grease a 13x9 pan. Overlap tortillas in pan covering bottom and sides. Pour beef mixture on top of tortillas. Bake uncovered at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.

Serves 6

Ready to be baked


Ready to be served


It did not come out of the dish very nicely,,,,,,


Close up of the leftover in the pan


First off let me tell you about something I do,,,,,,,,I write in my cookbooks. Yes that's right I write in them. If I change an ingredient or the quantity of something I note what I changed. I always write a comment about how the recipe turned out. Was it good, great, awesome or did it totally stink. If it was something that I thought was horrid and I would never make it again I actually mark through the recipe, lest the title persuade me to try it again somewhere down the road. I got this habit from my mother.

So for this recipe I made a few changes.
I used a whole medium sized onion not just a cup of chopped onion.
I substituted the garlic powder with 4 cloves of fresh garlic.
I used a small can of sliced olives, maybe 2.5 ounces.

We both agreed it tasted good but you couldn't really taste the taco seasoning. Next time we will use an entire package of taco seasoning.

Be warned, when I first added the tomato sauce and beef broth I thought it was a little watery, but after simmering it thickened up and then got even better once it had baked in the oven.