Breakfast Burrito Pie

Okay, I know what you're thinking.  Breakfast burrito pie?  What does that even mean?  Well I told you that I've become a little obsessed with pie recently, so this recipe came to me in a dream.  While it wasn't the easiest recipe to make (just a little time consuming), it was absolutely delicious and made 6-8 servings.  I'd say that the time invested and the reward are pretty equal at this point.  In fact, just writing about it is making me hungry.

So what's in a breakfast burrito pie?  The filling is ground beef, spiced sweet potatoes, black beans, salsa and cashew queso.  The crust is made from polenta and the pie is topped with eggs (shakshuka style if you will).  Top the entire thing with some hot sauce and guacamole and even some additional salsa and queso if you want and you've got a delicious dish that can be eaten for any meal.  

I made this in the oven because I wanted the polenta to crisp up a little, but it could just as easily be made on the stove and the eggs cooked with a lid on them.  It's up to you if you want to do a hands-on or hands off method.  I love sticking things in the oven and then doing all the dishes while my food is baking.  I find that I enjoy my food more when I know I don't have a pile of dishes to clean after - we call it the clean as you go method.

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

3 cups polenta, cooked

3 cups sweet potato, chopped

1 can black beans

1 lb ground beef

6 eggs

2 tbs avocado oil

2 tbs chili powder

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne

3/4 cup salsa

1/2 cup queso (I used Siete Foods cashew queso)

Optional Toppings: Cilantro, hot sauce, guacamole, more queso & salsa

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425° F.
2. Toss the sweet potatoes in oil and 1/2 of the spices.  Add to a sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, tossing 1/2 way through.
3. While the sweet potatoes are baking, add the ground beef to a large skillet with the other 1/2 of the spices and cook until browned and cooked through, about 7-10 minutes.
4. Assemble the pie: create a "crust" by coating the bottom and sides of a large cast iron skillet with polenta.  Bake for 15 minutes to set before adding filling.
5. Mix together the black beans, beef, sweet potatoes, salsa and queso in a large bowl.  When the polenta crust is finished baking, add the filling to the pie.  Create indents in the filling with a large spoon for the eggs.  Crack the eggs on top of the pie and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pie filling is heated through and the eggs are cooked to your liking.
6. Slice as you would a pie and top with any of the optional toppings you like.  Enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner.