Beef Tamale Bake- Pampered Chef

Who doesn't love Pampered Chef? It's fun to browse and they pretty much invented the baking stone which I absolutely love. I received a cookbook as a gift years ago and browsed through it the other night to see if I could find something new and interesting. I found this Tamale Bake that looked delicious, and like something that I could easily alter so I would not have to use their specific products.
This recipe was weird for me... Maybe I was distracted because it's a Friday and I was busy all day but I had a really hard time following the recipe. I kept looking too late and realizing that I misread details. It worked out in the long run, but caused for some backtracking and annoyances.
I started by sauteeing up ground turkey (instead of beef) and drained the excess liquid. I added one jar of salsa, a can of red beans, and some cumin & chili powder. Brought it back to a boil and mixed it all up and set it aside while I worked on the cornbread part.
I mixed up 3 parts of corn meal with one part flour and added baking soda & salt. Whisked it with 2 egg whites, 1 cup of hot water, and 3Tbsp of butter. Added the batter to a greased pie plate, topped it with meat (leaving 1/2 inch of space at the edges) and baked for 28 minutes. Topped with cheese and served with sour cream.

Mistake #1- didn't notice how much meat that I was supposed to use and made the full 20oz package of meat instead of the 8oz that was called for. Put about 1/3 of the mixture aside for future use.
Mistake #2- Added 1tsp of baking soda before realizing that it should be 1/2tsp and had to skim off what looked like 1/2 of it
Mistake #3- Recipe called for butter spread with 70% oil and I realized at the last minute that I had 48% spread and had to sub in butter. Used unsalted, so I added a tiny bit more salt than mentioned.
Mistake #4- Topped it with cheese before realizing that cheese was supposed to go on at the end. Had to skim it off before baking.

I was terrified that dinner was going to be awful. I am such a subpar baker and not having paid full attention meant to me that my cornbread crust was going to suck big time. I took the pie out of the oven and set it aside to cool. Breathed a huge sigh of relief and the perfectly set crust. We sliced some off, topped with a little sour cream, and settled down for a taste.

It was really good!! Shawn wasn't a huge fan of the cornbread crust, but he's also not too into tamales and doesn't appreciate cornbread as a chili base like some others (like me) might. The cornbread was slightly dry, but really worked with the chili topping. I used spicy chipotle salsa, which brought a nice kick to the mix and it all came together really well. We each had seconds and still have half a pie leftover for tomorrow.

Beef Tamale Bake- The Pampered Chef "Its good for you"
1 1/2 c yellow cornmeal
1/2 c flour
1/2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
1c hot water
2 egg whites
3T 70% vegetable oil spread, melted
1/2lb 95% lean ground beef
1 jar (16oz) salsa
1 can red beans, drained & rinsed
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1tsp cumin
1/2 c shredded cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda, & salt. Whisk in water, oil, & egg whites, & stir into cornmeal mixture. Stir until smooth & pour batter into baking dish.

2. Cook beef over med-high heat for 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles. Drain, if necessary.

3. Add salsa, beans, spices, & garlic to the beef, and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Spoon beef mixture evenly over batter to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the dish. Bake 20-23 minutes or until crust is set. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut into wedges.