Recipe: Taco Pie (gluten free)

This is one of Kevin's favorite meals. Lately I've been making with ground turkey instead of ground beef to be healthier. It's great either way. This is also an impressive meal to make for guests. You can double the recipe and put it in a 9x13 casserole dish as an alternative.

CRUST

1/4 cup/plus 1 T cornmeal, divided

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or rice flour, Bob's Red Mill gluten free baking flour...gfree flour of choice)
if you are gluten free

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/3 c. milk

1 T. vegetable oil

FILLING

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey

1 cup salsa (I use mild Pace Picante Sauce)

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce

1/2- 3/4 c. chopped tomato

1/2 cup sliced black olives

Sour cream to garnish

optional (avocado slices)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Using vegy oil spray (like Pam) spray a 9" round pie plate. Sprinkle 1 T cornmeal evenly onto the bottom and sides of the prepared pie plate. Set aside. In mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 c. cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk and oil, stir with milk until mixture forms a ball. Knead gently to combine all ingredients completely. Dough will be sticky at first. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Using lightly floured rolling pin, roll out crust to a 10 inch circle. Place in prepared pie plate and press dough in to fit. Press dough up sides of pan and trim excess. Using fork, crimp the edges (see picture for example) Set aside.

Cook and stir the ground meat in frying pan over medium/high heat for approx 10 minutes of until meat is no longer pink and is cooked through. Drain. Add the salsa and stir to combine. Pour meat/salsa mixture into prepared pie crust. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake 12-15 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese melted. Top pie with shredded lettuce, tomato and olives. Garnish with sour cream and optional avocado slices. Serve with additional salsa if required.

I like to serve this with Spanish rice as a side dish. Enjoy!