Carnitas Cornbread Pie

There's nothing better than using leftovers to make a fabulous freezer meal so when you need it, there will be a whole day of not doing a thing about dinner till you have to pop it in the oven and set the table.

We got a HUGE pork loin on super sale and Nate cut it into 3 pieces so we could freeze 2 and use the one we needed that day for our Root Beer Pulled Pork.

A few weeks later I still had the two tenderloins in the freezer and decided to use both of them to make a big batch of Crockpot Carnitas.
This was awesome because then I had tacos for Monday & Tuesday- and plenty leftover to make this recipe of two pies- we ate one of the pies Wednesday & Thursday night and the other went in the freezer!
This was a recipe I made up, with Nate's help, on a recent freeway drive.

You will need 1/2 of the carnitas from the above recipe to make 2 pies.

Each pie is 4-6 servings.

Meaning, it should be 6 servings but it's really good, you're gonna pile it on, and it will really only be 4...

Here is what else you will need:

Cooked, shredded, cooled carnitas

2 green chilies (I had Anehiem on hand, use any mild to medium green chile)

2 cups salsa verde

3-4 green onions chopped 

1 large jalepeno chopped

1 cup corn meal

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Shredded cheese about 3 cups

Spread a layer of salsa verde at the bottom of each pan.

Add a layer of carnitas.

Add the diced green chilies & more salsa verde.

Then make the cornbread layer;

In a medium bowl whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Using a hand mixer, blend in the egg, then milk then oil- until each ingredient is incorporated.

Pour the cornbread mix over the carnitas- sprinkle the chopped green onion and jalapeno over the cornbread.

Top with cheese.....

At this point I made one of them for dinner and froze the other for two weeks from now- cover in press n seal then into a ziplock freezer bag. (just add about 20 minutes to cooking time for the frozen pie).

For the "straight into the oven" pie- cook for 25 minutes or until golden brown and you can insert a butter knife in to the cornbread layer that comes out clean.

This was really, really, really yummy- great way to maximize a fantastic crockpot recipe!! Enjoy!! 

* for a veggie option; make the bottom layer with black beans or meatless-meat seasoned with chipotle peppers and adobo seasoning and add more chilies/veggies!!