After an afternoon in the great outdoors, this ultra-comfort food is the piping hot way to end the day. Just one taste and it’s sure to become an instant winter classic.
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 small deli-cooked chicken
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) salsa
- 1 cup (250 mL) frozen corn
- 1/3 cup (75 mL) coarsely chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) Butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (250 mL) Milk
- 1 cup (250 mL) shredded Canadian Aged Cheddar
Topping
- 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) Milk
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) Butter
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) cornmeal
- 1 cup (250 mL) shredded >Canadian Aged Cheddar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Discard chicken skin and remove meat from bones. Shred meat into long bite-size pieces. Place in a large bowl along with red pepper, salsa, corn and cilantro.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté for a couple of min until soft. Sprinkle with flour. Whisk about 1 min, then gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Whisk for 2 to 3 min until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar. Add to chicken mixture; stir to mix.
- Scrape mixture into a 10-inch (25 cm) square casserole dish.
- Topping: In the same pan that you’ve just used for cheese sauce (no need to clean), bring milk, butter and salt to a boil. Gradually whisk in cornmeal. Whisk continuously until thickened, about 3 min. Remove from heat. Stir in Cheddar, then one at a time, stir in eggs.
- Using a large spoon, dollop over chicken mixture, then spread to barely cover. Bake for 15 to 20 min until hot in centre.
