Currently our deep freezer is still stocked with plenty of deer meat from last years hunt. I realized I need to find new recipes to try & use it up as the fall hunting season is only a couple months away!
I Googled ground meat pie recipe & sort of came up with my own creation. If your familiar with my other recipes/posts, you know I try to make meals that are balanced so my dear hubby gets the much needed veggies he’s not keen to eat on his own.
Now, one part of this recipe calls for cornbread spread on top. I strongly recommend you use the Crispy Cornbread Waffle recipe. My recipe is slightly altered from the one posted on Creating Naturally, however I tried the original a while ago, it’s excellent! If you need a quick short cut, you can use just a box of Jiffy (surprisingly I didn’t have my normal go-to instant in the pantry).
This would be a perfect dish to prepare in advance & freeze! You also don’t necessarily need to stick with the same vegetables – I’m thinking next time I make this I’ll use up some of the eggplant I have frozen from last summer, maybe even throw in some carrots for good measure. It is time to start cleaning out the last of everything in the freezer to make room for fresh, yumminess from the garden!
Ingredients:
Main Dish
- 1 lb. Ground Meat
- ½ cup chopped Onion
- 2 Tbs freshly ground Flax Seed
- 2 Tbs minced Garlic
- 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 cup canned Tomatoes (fortunately I still had fresh canned tomatoes from last summer so I used a full quart jar)
- 2 cans of Beans (I only had on hand 1 white kidney bean & 1 can of garbanzo), rinsed & drained
- 2-3 cups Shredded Zucchini (or any other kind of veggies you need to use up, fresh or frozen)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Cornbread topping
- 1 cup Cornmeal
- ½ cup Unbleached All-purpose Flour or Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Tbs Baking Powder
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk or plain yoghurt
- 1 Egg
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ cup melted Coconut Oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brown ground meat with onions, fresh ground flax seed & garlic, until crumbly. Add seasonings, tomatoes & shredded zucchini. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes, or until it’s not as runny (with using home canned tomatoes, I had extra juice that needed to cook down). Add the beans. Pour into greased 1½ quart casserole & set aside if your cornbread batter isn’t ready.
While the meat is cooking, start preparing the cornbread topping. Combine cornmeal, flour, salt & baking powder in a bowl. Stir together. In a separate bowl, add the egg to the buttermilk (or yoghurt). Stir together with a fork. Add the baking soda and stir. Pour the buttermilk (yoghurt) mixture into the dry ingredients & stir until combined. Slowly add the melted lard to the batter, stirring constantly just until combined.
Pour the cornbread batter on the casserole & spread evenly with knife.
Bake 20 minutes then let sit for 10 minutes before serving
family junk drawer 