Cornbread Casserole with Taco 🌮 Toppings

I had to work on 🇲🇽 Cinco de Mayo 🌶, and I feel like I missed out on the fun, even though we had some Nachos the night before to make up for it.

Today I want to introduce you to a partly preperable (how is this not a word?) alternative for your Taco Tuesday, which is tomorrow. You're welcome! 

What I dislike about these meals is that I am the one who is running around, preparing everything and trying to keep the tortillas warm, while the others can just sit there, fill their fajita or taco and enjoy. By the time I get to sit down, the warm ingredients are cold. 

This is why my interest was sparked when I discovered the following on Pinterest:

Baked Taco Casserole.

Casserole dishes like Shepherd's Pie or Lasagna are my favorite for the simple reason that they can be prepared and put into the oven, in the meantime you get a chance to clean up the used dishes and pans and set the table, so by the time dinner is ready, I am ready as well!

It looked so delicious and seemed relatively easy to make, even though we can't purchase Bisquick Mix here in Switzerland. I googled some DIY recipes, and thought, why should I just follow it if I have a better idea? Cornbread!

Also for the toppings I thought some were missing in the recipe, so here's how I did it:

Brown the ground beef, season with Mexican spices, add tomato puree and simmer it down while preparing the cornbread batter:

1 egg
55 g butter (0.5 stick), melted and slightly cooled
250 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
115 g (0.75 cup) corn meal
150 g (1.25 cup) flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
0.5 teaspoon salt

Mix until combined.

Grease your baking dish with melted butter or vegetable oil, spread the beef evenly, sprinkle with black olives and sweet corn, then distribute the cornbread batter over beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese, I used mozzarella. (How very un-Mexican of me, I know!)

Bake at 200° C (400° F) for 20 - 25 minutes, take out and let cool for about 10 minutes. Use this time to prep your favorite toppings:

I used sour cream, mashed avocado, iceberg lettuce, red bell pepper strips and orange cheddar. It looked so delicious, and I was super excited for hubby and son to come home. 

They liked it, too, and I will be sure to make It again real soon!

Do you like Mexican food? What's your favorite? Let me know.

And if you try this recipe, I want to know how it turned out, OK?