Cheesey Beaney Chili Pie

I have had this recipe saved since January and I am just now getting to it.  Does anyone else ever do that?  Every so often I really need to go through all the recipes I have marked to try and make a few!  This one was pretty easy and verrrrrry tasty.

First, I had to make chopped meat.  I put about 3/4 lb of meat in the food processor...

...and chopped it!

While it was in the food processor, I melted tallow in our cast iron skillet.

I browned the meat and set it aside.

Since the skillet still had tallow in it, I added in onions, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and red pepper flakes.

When the onions were soft, I added the beef back in, along with 3 cups of red beans, a smidge of tomato paste, and 1 1/2 cups of diced tomatoes.

When all of the flavors were combined, I added one HUGE shredded potato.

After a sprinkling of salt, I added lots and lots of shredded cheese.  I used up all of the bits and pieces of cheese that were in the fridge.

 It baked in the oven for 20 minutes at 400*, and then we threw it under the broiler to brown it up.  

I loved almost everything about it.  The only thing I would tweak would be the potatoes.  I didn't like the way they cooked up.  I think next time I would add some fat to the potatoes so they crisped up a bit more.  All in all, I would say it was a success!

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