Southwest Vegetarian Cornbread Bake

• 1 Tbs Oil
• ½ Cup Diced onions
• ½ Cup Diced green peppers
• 1 Box Jiffy cornbread mix (UPDATE)***
• 1 Can Black beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ Can Corn, drained

• ¾ Cup Salsa
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 Cup Lowfat Mexican blend cheese, divided*
• 1 Egg (Required for cornbread mix)
• 1/3 Cup Milk (Required for cornbread mix)
• Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease 9×9 baking dish with cooking spray.
3. In a large skillet or frying pan, heat oil over medium low heat.
4. Sauté onions and green peppers for a few minutes until tender-crisp.
5. Meanwhile, prepare corn bread mix according to directions on the box. Set batter aside.
6. Pour black beans and corn into onion and pepper mixture and stir. Mix in salsa gently.
7. Sprinkle cumin and other spices over the top and stir again.
8. Once mixture is warm and desired flavor is achieved, pour contents of the pan into the prepared casserole dish and spread out evenly.**
9. Sprinkle ½ cup cheese over the bean blend.
10. Pour corn bread mixture over the top of casserole contents.
11. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, remove and add remaining ½ cup of cheese, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
12. Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

Servings: 9

Cooking Tips:
*The cheese can be removed from the dish to cut calories even more, but it helps the layers stick together and enhances flavor.

**Erica recommends adding an additional Tbs or two of milk to the cornbread batter if it is too thick. She assures that even though there appears to be only enough batter to cover the dish, that it will rise and fill in upon baking. She recommends pouring the batter in a big mound in the center of the dish and delicately spreading it to all four corners using a fork.

***After this program first aired, many of listeners wrote in to explain that Jiffy Corn bread Mix is NOT vegetarian. Erica uses it for efficiency, but use an alternate cornbread recipe if concerned about the recipe being completely vegetarian.

Nutrition Information