Tamale Casserole

This casserole was a little bit of a gamble with my family. They all love tamales, but not so much casserole. I had a busy week, and there was no time for tamale making. So this just sounded like too good of an idea not to try it, and it payed off. Both kids said it was a make again!

Playing with tempo can really change your weight lifting game. They are useful for hypertrophy and can make even the lightest of weights effective. Here I should a 3 count eccentric. Raise the weight at a normal pace, pause at the top, then lower as a count of 3. I did it for 3 sets of 8, and was sore with only 30 lbs!

Part of the reason that I was so busy this week was that I had a business trip to Detroit for Venus. Lucky me, my bestie and fellow co-worker Coach Jenny got to accompany me :) this is Kallie (middle) touring us through the Melprints warehouse ... big things are coming from #venusindex #venusfactor ❤ I am dying to tell you all!

Jenny and I doing what we love BEST at the hotel gym in Detroit-  glutes! To be clear, we did a full body workout but this is a snippet of our favorite things ;) On the right is Jenny doing bird dogs for glute activation. We try to do these (or something along these lines) as one of our first sets to really help with motor recruitment. Bottom left is me doing single leg hip thrusts with a 5 second pulse at the end. This was a middle of the workout set for hypertrophy. Top left is Jenny doing glute briges (single leg then double) as a burnout set or finisher. That really helps with the pump and max bloodflow. Notice both of us feeling our glutes or palpating to make sure muscles are engaged and engaged equally. This also helps with mind-muscle connection! 

"Muscles communicate what you are about without saying a word." Greatness from Jen Sinkler (who even commented on this picture and MADE MY DAY)! ❤ Never apologize about your body. Own it and go after what YOU want. Nobody else is entitled to that decision.

So onto the recipe ;) this one will end up on our regular rotation, and it reheats perfectly!

Tamale Casserole

Serves 8

Ingredients
1 cup, Masa or Corn Meal
1 Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1.75 cup, Tomato products - Canned, sauce (1 can)
1.25 lb(s), 85% Ground Beef
1 can (1.33 cup), Corn
1.50 cup, shredded, Cheese, cheddar
16 oz, Milk

2 medium (2-1/2" dia), Onions, raw, chopped
3 tbsp garlic
2 tbsp chile powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
Optional- hot sauce, olives, plain Greek yogurt, and greens

Directions
Saute onions and bell pepper until onions are translucent. Add in ground beef and saute until cooked. In a large bowl, mix masa and milk. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese. Spread into a greased 9x13" casserole. Bake at 350*F for 45 minutes, top with cheese and allow to melt. Serve ontop of a bed of fresh greens topped with Greek yogurt, olives, and hot sauce.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 8.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 371
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 19 g	30 %
Saturated Fat 9 g	44 %
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 71 mg	24 %
Sodium 497 mg	21 %
Potassium 379 mg	11 %
Total Carbohydrate 27 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g	12 %
Sugars 8 g
Protein 23 g	47 %
Vitamin A	10 %
Vitamin C	12 %
Calcium	25 %
Iron	15 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.