Mexican Cornbread

  I learned this recipe from my mother. She made this dish for casual pot lucks and cookouts. It's a great dinner choice as well. Mexican Cornbread is a non-authentic Mexican take on Shepard's Pie. A plus factor in this recipe my mom never exploited was the creativity factor at the end of the recipe. So, lets get hungry. You will need...                     -1 deep dish baking pan
                                                                 - at least a half dozen eggs
                                                                 - 3 boxes of cornbread mix (I use Jiffy)
                                                                 - milk
                                                                 - butter
                                                                 - at least 4 lbs. ground beef (depending on how big of a pan you want to fill is how much you use. I make mine pretty thick.)
                                                                 - 1 or 2 can of mexi-corn or just whole kernel corn
                                                                 - a jar of sliced jalapenos
                                                                 - a taco seasoning pouch
                                                                 - 2 or three bags of shredded mexican cheese (but any cheese you want would work fine, experiment.

                                                                 - olive oil

 Now that we've got those things preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is warming pull out your cutting board and chop about half a jar of jalapenos to cook in a pot with the ground beef on a little olive oil on a med-hi heat setting. Add salt, pepper, the corn and the taco seasoning pouch. Stir this over a med-hi heat setting until the ground beef is completely cooked and well mixed then let it simmer on a lo heat(drain the pot). Now grab the butter and coat the in side of you pan, every side. This is where you follow the instructions on your cornbread mix boxes and about 3 boxes worth in a bowl that is easy to pour from.

    Now, this part must be done carefully because you don't want to over-do it on the cornbread. Carefully place a thin layer of cornbread batter on the bottom of the pan. Believe me the thinner the better. Now grab that pot of simmering meat and scoop and layer it on the cornbread batter evenly. This is where you drop your cheese, cover the entire surface of meat. Just load it on because it all melts down. Now carefully pour on a layer of cornbread batter on top of the cheese. If there are gap in the batter they close when it bakes so be very light handed with the batter but do cover the cheese. Finally, the part you've waited for, now you get to place sliced jalapenos on top the cornbread batter. This is where you can say happy birthday, happy 4th, or make you favorite NFL logo. By now the oven is ready so stick the pan in the oven and follow the cooking time on your cornbread mix box or until the cornbread is brown and golden. When it's done looking at your message or picture is the second good feeling you'll have after you try a huge squared cheesy slice of Mexican Cornbread. I usually eat mine solo but it can also be enjoyed with a cool salsa and sour cream.  FATALITY!