Beef and Chorizo Corn Casserole

I know you might be thinking, hey, this sounds good but I don’t even know what chorizo is! Chorizo is a lovely, lovely thing. It is a pork sausage seasoned with paprika, dried chiles, garlic, oregano, cumin and other spices. There are several different types of chorizo. I usually buy raw chorizo because it is readily available in my store. You can usually find it either by the pork products in your meat department or by the fresh crema, queso fresco and sour cream in your dairy aisle.There are usually about 6 small logs or 2 large logs to a package and each log is in a casing. Just trim off the end and squeeze the chorizo out. Chorizo is a little spicy but when you mix it with ground beef it really just provides a great flavor.
This is a fun spin on your traditional corn casserole! The first layer has a meat sauce which has a little kick to it, then the fluffy corn casserole with peppers and then the top layer has a gooey, salty cheese. This would also be great with any corn casserole leftovers! Just make the meat sauce and top with leftover corn casserole, heat through and top with cheese. This will definitely be going on our menu again, especially because it makes a large pan! This was more than enough for two meals in our house.

Enjoy!

Beef and Chorizo Corn Casserole

Bottom Chorizo and Beef layer

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion diced
6 mini sweet peppers or 1 large red pepper diced
3 cloves of garlic diced
1 lb ground beef
3 small logs of chorizo or 1 large log ( about 1/2 a lb)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Mrs. dash
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne* omit if sensitive to heat
½ teaspoon tomato paste

Corn Casserole Topping (Adapted from Paula Deen)

1 can of creamed corn
1 can of corn drained
1 box of jiffy corn muffin mix
1 cup of sour cream
1 stick of butter melted
1 Poblano pepper, roasted and diced

1 ½ cups shredded cheese, I used colby jack

Preheat oven to 375

Heat oil in a large non stick pan over medium heat, begin to saute onion, and peppers until onions become translucent. Next add in garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes. Then add ground beef and chorizo (be sure to remove the chorizo from the casing before adding to the pan). Break up ground beef and chorizo until meat begins to brown. If beef or chorizo is excessively greasy, drain grease from pan (reserve a little in the pan though, that is flavor!) Next add in garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, cumin, salt, paprika, cayenne (if you like it a little spicy), and tomato paste. Taste for salt and pepper. Spread in the bottom of a 9 by 13 pan.
Next combine ingredients for corn casserole in a large bowl. Start by adding creamed corn, drained corn, melted butter, sour cream, roasted poblano pepper and jiffy mix. Mix well and spread over top of meat mixture.
Bake for 30-35 minutes uncovered and then top with shredded cheese and broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese browns on top. Let set for about 5 minutes before serving.
Garnish with sour cream ( I topped mine with a yummy avocado sour cream which was super easy! 1 avocado cubed, 1 garlic clove, ½ of a limes juice, ¼ tsp of salt and pepper, 1 cup of sour cream- combine in a food processor until creamy).

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