simple supper- Mexican cornbread casserole

After running out of ideas for easy dinners using fresh veggies from the gardens I decided that I was going to make a meal using many different ones with a Mexican flair to it. Though there are many different mexican casserole dishes out on the web, none sounded all that appealing to me so I made my own recipe up. The dish cost a total of about 2 dollars to make and will easily serve 6. Chopping up the veggies is the hardest part of making the meal. Just remember to use a large enough casserole dish or pan so that it doesn't boil over everywhere like mine did.

1 lb ground beef or turkey
one large onion
3-4 cloves garlic
4 large tomatoes
1 cup corn/hominy
1 cup zucchini/summer squash
1 can kidney or pinto beans
1 cup winter squash
2 jalapenos
1 tsp cumin
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup corn meal
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup water
cheese

Brown the ground beef with the diced onion and garlic, drain. Chop all other veggies and spices and mix in with the burger mixture in a 9x13 pan. Mix together. Mix the corn meal, egg, and water in a bowl then spread over the top of the veggie/burger mix. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Garnish with shredded cheese of your choice and sour cream. Serve with a side salad and you have a meal.

Because I cook over wood I put the entire mess into a large deep cast iron pan and covered it while cooking. This would work well in a dutch oven in a fire pit too. The type and amount of veggies is entirely up to you and a boxed corn bread mix can be used instead of making your own. A polenta on the bottom in a regular oven would also taste yummy, but I would not recommend it if cooking over wood unless you are very good at controlling temperatures so that it doesn't burn.