Black Bean Casserole - Chloe/Shannon

Black Bean Casserole

A vegetarian main dish adapted from Shannon Burdeshaw
Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup salsafresh cilantro, chopped
green onions, chopped
1 can corn, drained
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
3/4 cup corn meal
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine beans, salsa, cilantro, green onions, and corn.
Season to taste with Mexican seasonings of your choice (maybe cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt, etc). Spread into the bottom of a 9"x13" dish. Layer shredded cheese on top.
In another bowl, mix remaining ingredients to form a cornbread topping. Spread cornbread mixture over bean mixture and smooth.
Bake until brown on top ... approx. 20 minutes.
Notes:
Feel free to serve with your favorite condiments ... more salsa, sour cream, or guacamole. You'll notice that the quantities in this recipe are not precise. :-) Sorry about that. This is one of those "kitchen sink" recipes where you just throw in whatever ingredients you have and it will turn out just fine, yet subtly different each time. I don't think I actually measured anything when I made it. I prefer to use dried black beans and properly soak and cook them first. I opted to use a Bob's Red Mill Cornbread mix (instead of doing that part from scratch) and baked it according to the package directions. The amount of cornbread (intended for a 8"x8" pan) seemed a bit too thick compared to the depth of the bean mixture. So if I go that route again, I will probably double the bean mixture ingredients and make two casseroles at the same time, and put half of the cornbread mixture on each.
Shannon says this casserole freezes well!