Ham-and-Greens Pot Pie with Cornbread Crust

I made this, I substituted northern beans instead of blacked eyed peas and I added 1 can of roasted chopped tomatoes . And served it with home made Mac and cheese. It was very good southern comfort food. Loved it !

This was in SL's 50th anniversary issue, and looked quite good so decided to give it a try. I used fresh collards, and fresh onions/bell/celery.  I also omitted the oil and just sprayed my dutch oven w/ non-stick spray. There is enough moisture in the ham that you don't need the oil for moisture, and ham in a good dutch oven shouldn't stick. I thought the sauce was a tad thin, so I added a little bit of Roux flour (browned, finely milled flour). This gave it a nice, deep flavor. Also used a cornmeal mix that has no sugar which was a nice find, b/c we don't like cornbread sweet. Anyway, everyone love it, including the piano teacher who could smell it cooking during a lesson and asked for a few bites!.  Next time:  I think it would make more sense to brown the ham, then add the onions/bell/celery - get those good and brown  - before adding the flour and liquid. Overall, this was a nice change and delicious.

To the person that asked what seasoning blend is: It's a frozen mix of diced onions, celery, red peppers, green peppers and parsley.

what is frozen seasoning blend?

My family loves this. We are southerners, so we don't like our cornbread too sweet. I make my own cornbread recipe to top it with and it turns out great! Good just like it is, or with a little pepper sauce on it. A meal in itself.

My daughter dubbed it "soul food pot pie." I did sub fresh collard greens for the frozen and smoked turkey leg meat for the ham (of course it did have to simmer longer to get the greens & turkey tender enough; about 45 min.-1 hr.). The only other thing I would change is to make the cornbread topping a little sweeter. I served it with spicy oven-fried chicken drumettes. I didn't make the Pimiento-Cheese Corn Sticks (corn bread topping is enogh bread). Great recipe!

I have fixed this several times, always to rave reviews. I even made it for the in-laws, and they loved it! I serve this with the pimento cheese corn sticks and apple cider vinegar. The vinegar really gives it a finished flavor.

IT TASTED GREAT!