Wednesday:)What’s Cookin’ Miss Toni? Tamale Casserole

“When you start off with the best ingredients, the rest of the recipe is just a magic concoction of goodness.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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My dear friend Miss Virginia was making homemade tamales and asked me if I wanted any. Duh! Is the Pope Catholic? I picked up a couple dozen, and of course, I had to taste test a couple the minute I got home.

Instead of just gobbling them all up plain, I decided that I would make a couple of tamale casseroles for Baking or sharing.

Just using stuff I had around the house, I peeled off the husks (hojas)

I lined the pans with canned diced tomatoes (chili ready), then layered the tamales on top.

A little bit more tomatoes, then a layer of black beans. I love black beans. I sprinkle on a lot of garlic powder. I love garlic, but tooooo lazy to chop and use fresh.

Then, sprinkle with pepper jack cheese and a little dollop of Bernard’s salsa for a zip. A little goes a long way… pretty spicy. Now: one to bake and one for the fridge or a friend. Yum!