Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Beloved Taco casserole

The first time i ever heard of Taco Casserole was from one of the acheivement days girls that i used to teach. she came over for the activity that night and was totally devastated that she had to go home because it was "taco casserole night" at her house. i laughed and wondered HMMMM what IS taco casserole? how i finally found out was that i went to the halloween party at my ward and someone made it for their "chili". Ruby rarely likes anything, but she has just recently gotten on a taco kick. so i thought---i must make this!!
the only reason i am posting this is because i made it tonight yet again and it was SOOO delectable. maybe i am just deprived of really good cooking that is wholesome and healthy --instead of super greasy and oversalted.
but here is my recipe. its simple and easy to put together. i just think its a really easy meal---LIKE TACOS!!! it seems like everyone has stuff to make tacos right?

1 box of taco shells ( you can use tortilla chips if you like) 
1 lb of lean ground beef--or turkey 
1 tbs and 1 teaspoon taco seasoning ( or a packet) + bay leaf
1/2 an onion diced ( or more if you like) 
1 bell pepper ( optional) 
1 small can of tomato sauce 
pace picante sauce or salsa of choice 
1 can of black beans 
corn, olives---or anything else you would like to add. 
 grated colby jack or cheddar cheese

sautee onions and beef together, drain, return to pan. 
add seasonings, beans , bell peppers, tomato sauce, &corn. 
sautee for about 3 minutes on med-high. stirring. 
then pull apart taco shells ( so they are flat) and place them in a 
13x9 pan on the bottom. put spoonfulls of  salsa on them. put your 
beef mixture in a layer on top of the flat taco shells. and continue to layer 
in this order: tacoshells, tiny bit of salsa on the taco shells, beef mixture, cheese---and so on. 
until you run out of mixture and or everything else. 
bake in an oven at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes. 
scoop out casserole onto a bed of shredded lettuce and add sliced avo 
and sour cream. i like a little spice, so i add El-PATO sauce drizzled over top. 

its SOOOOO yummy. 
your kids will love it if they like tacos.


10 comments:

Kara said...

Hey, you posted it. Good for you! You should try adding some grains, they would fit in perfectly.

Jake and Emily Hutchings Family said...

mmm...sounds totally yummy. i swear i am mexican at heart, i can never get enough of it, especially when i'm pregnant. thanks for your advice on making my kids eat!!

Haydee said...

I'm so making this on Friday...thanks for sharing..

Natalie Hall said...

Yummy!!! I am on it for tonight... We love mexican..

Amanda said...

I love getting recipes from people's blogs - so much better than just looking through a cookbook. Thanks I am going to make it this week!

Wendy said...

Wow, what a fabulous picture! That looks like it should be on a 5-star menu!

Come to AZ and you can have it in a tortilla bowl!

(Ironically, I just posted my first recipe too!)

Samantha said...

I made this fabulous dish tonight, Jill. It was amazing!! I fully understand now why it is so beloved by you. Everyone in my house loved it too! In fact, my mother-in-law told me afterwards that I could have it on a restaurant menu. Kudos to you, Jill. I think this one is going into the Wilkey family favorite recipes.

Matt and Carly Van Dyke said...

That looks so good! I'll have to try it! I'm always looking for quick and easy receipes!

suzbinky said...

This looks great. I think it's all in the photo. I'd take it and it would look like dog food on the plate.

Patti said...

I'm glad you perfected it... I thought is was great when you made it for your Halloween party. I've added this to my repertoire. I love recipes that are the result of trial and error. Yummmm! Thanks.