Bake is not a noun

I hate it when recipe writers name a dish after the method or vessel of cooking. "Broccoli and Orzo Skillet" "Chicken and Zucchini Saute" "Chipotle Chili Cornbread Bake" I don't know what it is about it, I just don't like it. So although I followed the recipe titled "Chipotle Chili Cornbread Bake," I like to think I ended up with an Americanized version of Shepherd's Pie. Again, no peas in this recipe, which is probably why I don't cook real Shepherd's Pie. Just can't adhere to the pea requirement.

I had and awesome lunch with a friend the other day at Bobby's Burger Palace. Although the temperature is sub-freezing, the company and the LA turkey burger were totally worth it. (Honestly, I tried to chicken out and suggested the Irish Pub or Chinese restaurants closer to my office. I would have been completely disappointed.) But my point is that even though I came home a little late, I wasn't hungry. Hubby wasn't hungry either, and will be quick to tell you about the spread he sampled at the company holiday party that afternoon. So we watched the extended episode of Top Scallop from last night and by the time that ended, it was 7:15. I figured I better make something to eat or I would regret it when my grumbling tummy wakes me up at 3am. I had all the fixins for the dish we ended up eating (we'll return to the name debate later) and knew 2 things: it'd be quick enough that we'd eat within the hour and I wouldn't have to pull utensils out of the packed dishwasher to accomplish this task. So I got started. Once again, my photography is off; I kept forgetting to take pictures. I must get better at that!

First I chopped a green pepper and sliced a bunch of scallions. Just the bottoms of the scallions went in the magic pot along with the chopped pepper and 1 pound of lean ground beef.

I popped the dish, covered, into the microwave for 7 minutes. I forgot to take it out and chop up the ground beef 1/2 way through, but eh, no biggie. When I did take it out, I crumbled up the beef with my mix 'n chop (Nothing worse than a big chunk of ground beef when I'm looking for a mix of flavors in each bite). Then I simply added a cup of salsa, a can of chili beans in sauce (I had no idea what these were until I had to make another recipe last fall that also called for them), and 2 tablespoons of chipotle seasoning. I mixed that all together, put the lid back on, and microwaved for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, I mixed 1 box of corn muffin mix, 1 egg, and 8 oz of sour cream together with the tops of the scallions I chopped earlier. (Can you hear Rachel Ray saying "chop once, use twice?" Yeah, I threw something at her in my imagination too.) So when the beef mixture came out of the microwave, I spread the corn muffin mix concoction over the top of the beef and bean mix. Back into the microwave for another 7 minutes. In the time it took to "bake" the cornbread topping, I washed the dishes I had used to make the dish!
This is what we ended up with:

It doesn't look like much, but here's why I say it's an Americanized version of Shepherd's Pie:

Look familiar? I've made this recipe several times for Pampered Chef Shows and rarely do I get to try it to the point where I know if it's really good or not. (Ettiquite says when lots of people need a taste, I can't take a generous portion. Nope. Apparently not even if I made it and it's for quality assurance.)

 I must say, it was quite tasty! Lots of flavor, not too much beef, not too much sauce. Hubby approved. (Good thing he didn't see me put the mushrooms in there!  kidding! kidding! relax. there were no mushrooms.)

So this recipe naming thing. Not only is naming the dish after the method of cooking a cop-out, this one is down right wrong. I didn't "bake" this dish. All of the cooking was done in the microwave. So if we want to get technical, this should be a Chipotle Chili Cornbread Microwave. But lets get creative instead of technical. I'm going to call this success in the kitchen Chipotle Chili Shepherd's Pie.