Rodeo Life

Author: Linda Griffin

  • Tamale Pie

    Tamale Pie

    courtesy of “Ridin’, Ropin’ & Recipes” by Nancy Sheppard
    recipes submitted by Linda Griffin Brost: Mollie Griffin’s granddaughter

    INGREDIENTS:

    1 hen
    1 onion
    2-3 stalks celery
    Salt to taste
    (2) 14oz containers frozen red chili puree, such as Baca, thawed
    2-3 cups Yellow corn meal
    2 cans whole kernel corn
    1 can whole black olives
    2 sm. cans button mushrooms
    Flour
    Canola or olive oil

    DIRECTIONS:

    Boil hen with chopped onion and celery, with salt to taste. Remove chicken, cool, debone and chop.
    Reserve broth.
    Prepare roux to thicken chili puree into gravy consistency:
    4 TBSP canola or olive oil
    4 tsp flour
    Brown flour in oil and add water to make roux (approx. 1 chili container)
    Add 2 containers of defrosted chili to roux and stir
    Stir in chopped chicken and simmer

    Polenta

    2 cans whole kernel corn
    2-3 cups yellow corn meal, depending on amount of chicken broth reserved
    Add enough cold water to cornmeal to make it pour from bowl. Bring chicken broth to a boil and pour corn meal into broth, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth. Add whole kernel corn and mix.
    Pour enough polenta into 9×13” baking dish to cover a depth of approximately 1/3 of the dish.
    Reserve approx.. 1 cup to use on top of casserole
    Pour chili/chicken layer over polenta layer
    Dot the top of the casserole with dollops of the polenta mixture, whole black olives, and button mushrooms,
    Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes to set.