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Old Army Tamale Pie

Old Army Tamale Pie

There is quite a difference between the salary of a Colonel and A lieutenant. But, they both have to pay the same prices from groceries and have to return their social obligations . . .So to keep junior personal from bankruptcy, there came into being the Old Army Tamale Pie. There are may variations, but one of the standard recipes is given below.

1 pound can of tomatoes
1/2 box of seedless raisins
1 cup of rice
3 tablespoons of shortening
1 pound can of golden corn with liquid, no niblets
3 pounds of coarse ground hamburger
1 pound can of kidney beans with liquid
a small can of ripe olives
1 1/2 pounds of corn meal

A small box of Gebhardt's chili powder 1 1/2 ounce 4 cloves of crushed garlic 3 stalks celery, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped 3 or 4 red chili peppers, without seeds salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, cominos seeds to taste Place one 18" - 20" frying pan or two smaller ones of equal capacity on stove and put in shortening. A Dutch oven works great. Add rice and let brown lightly, stirring constantly. In a separate skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter or shortening. Sauté in this the celery, onion, garlic, green pepper and red chili peppers. When rice is brown, add pepper, celery, etc. from the other skillet into the big frying pan. Put in hamburger and cook slightly. Add all other ingredients except the corn meal. Mix and stir slowly over moderate heat. Add water if necessary. Just before the mixture is done, scald the corn meal and cook, adding to it for flavoring a cup of juice from mixture in big pan. Cook half the corn meal at a time unless your pan is unusually large. Have it of sufficient consistency so that it will adhere to the sides of a large deep baking dish about 10" in diameter, without running down. Several smaller casserole dishes will do. With a wooden spoon, line sides and bottom of baking dish with one half of the corn meal, saving enough to cover the top. Pour the tamale mixture into the big dish. Cover top with layer of corn meal. Place in a slow oven, 250ºF. and bake for about 1 hour. Garnish with paprika and parsley. This menu is a complete meal, except for dessert and salad. Serves 15

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