Project Life - September 2026

Trisha Yearwood's Tamale Pie

 

I just love Trisha Yearwood.  Besides being a great singer, she just seems so down to earth and seems like someone I would like to be friends with.  Plus, she is a fabulous cook.

A friend gifted me a couple of her cookbooks and I use them quite regularly.  

One recipe that I have really been wanting to try is her Tamale Pie.  I love Tamale's so what could be better, right?

While this appears to have a few ingredients, it is really quite easy to make!

Trisha Yearwood's Tamale Pie

1 tablespoon corn oil
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (85 percent lean)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cups green or red enchilada sauce (I used red)
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro  (you can leave this out if you don't like it)
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 cups self-rising cornmeal
2 1/2 to 3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons corn oil
4 scallions, chopped (I didn't use these)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium / high heat. Add the beef, onions, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring and breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon, until the meat is brown and the onions are softened, about 6 minutes. 

Add the tomato paste, chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Stir in the enchilada sauce, beans, corn and cilantro and season with salt. Bring to a simmer. 

Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the cheese.

Add the cornmeal to a mixing bowl. Mix in the buttermilk and oil. You want the mixture to
be thick but pourable. Stir in the scallions, if desired. Pour on top of the meat mixture in the skillet
and spread in an even layer. 

Bake until the meat is bubbling and the cornbread is golden
brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

VERDICT: Pretty easy to make and oh so good!!  

Trish Yearwood's Hot Corn Dip

I  have made this many times but have never posted it here.  I LOVE Trisha Yearwood - her music, her personality and her recipes.  She just seems like someone you would like to be friends with.  I was so happy when she started having her own cooking show on the Food Network.

One of the first recipes of her's that I tried was Hot Corn Dip.  It is soooooo delicious.  I could (actually I have) had it for dinner - just the corn dip and chip.

You must make this for game day - the Superbowl is coming up soon and it would be perfect for snack on during the game.

Trisha Yearwood's Hot Corn Dip

Ingredients

• 2 (11 ounce) cans of Mexicorn/Fiesta Corn, drained
• 2 (7 ounce) cans of chopped green chiles, drained
• 2 tablespoons of chopped, pickled jalapeno
• 2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 2/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of mayonnaise

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or butter a 9 x 13 inch deep baking dish.

Place everything in the baking dish and mix together carefully (if you don't have a deep casserole dish, mix in a bowl and then transfer to the baking dish).

Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges.  Serve warm with the corn chips (I like Tostitos Scoops with it). Watch it quickly disappear !

Trisha Yearwood's Crock Pot Mac & Cheese

When I first found out Trisha Yearwood was going to have her own cooking show I was so excited and immediately set my TiVo to record every episode.  I have tried a few of her recipes - one of my faves being her Hot Corn Dip and they are all good !

I love macaroni and cheese and I like easy crock pot cooking so thought I would give this a try.

Trish Yearwood's Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese

• Cooking spray
• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick ) of butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Dash of pepper
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• Two 10-ounce bricks sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 5 cups)
• Dash of paprika

Directions

First - grate your cheese - I decided to use one brick of mild and one brick of sharp - whoo hoo, good arm exercise and boy is that a lot of cheese

Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray (like Pam), mix the macaroni, evaporated milk, milk, butter, salt, pepper, eggs and all but 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top of the mixture and then sprinkle with paprika.

Notice that it didn't say to pre-cook the macaroni so I didn't and it all was done and tender when I took it out.  However, when I watched her cooking show, she pre-cooked it and added it - I might try that next time but it cooked just fine adding in dried pasta.

Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours and 15 minutes. Turn off the crockpot, stir the mixture and serve hot. 

The finished dish was not as thick as I like mac and cheese to be.....If I make this again, I will leave out half of the milk, I would add a little bit of dry mustard and I would use all sharp cheddar.