recipe review: corn bread tamale pie

I recently checked out Joy of Cooking from the library. What a fabulous cookbook! I love the way it is written and there are so many sections that teach you how to store food, freeze food, pair food with wine, and tons of other things that are useful!
There is a section on meals that freeze well, and I am a big fan of making a dish and freezing half for another time, so I gave one a try. I did make some changes with the spices and the next time I make this, I will probably do it differently, but here is what I did this time:

Corn Bread Tamale Pie
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup drained canned or frozen corn
1 cup of tomato sauce (I used an 8 oz can)
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup water or beef or chicken broth
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
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1. Brown the beef with the onion until the beef is brown and the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the beans, corn, tomato sauce, water (or broth), green pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika, black pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
**To make it easier (and a bit sweeter) I would totally just use jiffy cornbread mix with 1 egg and 1/3 cup of milk, I just happened to have cornmeal on hand***
5. Spread the meat mixture into a greased 3 quart casserole dish (I used a 9x13 inch pan) and cover that with the corn bread mixture. Bake until the cornbread is brown, about 20-25 minutes.
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So here is what I will do differently next time. I probably will skip the 1 cup of liquid AND the corn bread topping. Instead of using 1 cup of tomato sauce, I will use 1 cup of salsa. Then I will use the meat mixture to fill corn tortillas and bake those for about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I think Aislynn will like this better...she didn't like how it looked so was weary to eat it, but rolled up in a corn tortilla I am certain she would gobble it up:)
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Aislynn is out of school tomorrow for Veteren's Day, so I've got plans to make these:)