Albers Tamale Pie

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For Cinco De Mayo I made us Albers Tamale Pie.  As I am sure it's pretty obvious I was drawn to it because of its lovely presentation with the polenta shaped diamond topping.

The recipe just so happens to not give much direction on this key feature.  I made mine by lining a baking pan with wax paper sprayed with cooking spray and then put down a uniform layer of the polenta when it was still warm.  I then put it in the fridge to firm up.  Next I cut a diamond shape out of a piece of cardboard to use as a template and cut out the shapes from the prepared firm polenta.  Next I layered them on top of the casserole, topped with a little bit of cheese, and baked.  I pretty much followed the recipe as is for the most part.  My changes were I made only half of the recipe for the corn meal crust (aka polenta).  My filling came out looking more like chili than the souper look in the ad.  Taste was average.

For a Mexican inspired extra I also made us non-alcoholic margarita slushes.  I happen to find a sugar free zero calorie Margarita mix at 1.25 tree.  I just ran some ice through the blender added the mixer and had a zero guilt treat!

For more Cinco De Mayo/Mexican inspired posts:

Fried Ice Cream Falso

 Mexican Wedding Cookies

Ole! Cream Cheese Empanadas and Cinco Decor

Viva Los Teachers! Churro Cupcakes

Our trip to South of the Border (South Carolina)