Beef and Tortilla Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound Lean ground beef (I use 93/7)
I small onion diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can of tomatoes and green chilies, drained
1 pound Taco seasoning amount needed for of meat (1 packet or in the case of McCormick ¼ cup)
2 cups of salsa, divided (you can use all of one kind or do like I did use 1 cup tomato and 1 cup 12 corn tortillas
2 cups 2% Colby and Monterey jack cheese (or any cheese blend), divided

Preparation

1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2
In a large skillet, cook and crumble the ground beef on medium-hi heat until browned. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. A small amount of fat should remain in the pan. If you do not use as lean as ground beef as I do, you may have more so drain it out of the pan until just enough to sauté the vegetables remains.
3
Add the onion and pepper to the pan and sauté about 5 minutes. Add the corn and cook another 5 minutes.
4
Add the tomatoes and green chilies and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the ground beef back to the pan and add the taco seasoning. Be sure to mix the ingredients well in order to incorporate the seasoning and cook another 5 minutes before removing from the heat and setting aside.
5
Spread one cup of salsa on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Layer 6 corn tortillas over the salsa. I found it easier to put the two tortillas on each end of the pan before adding the ones in the center to ensure they were evenly spaced. Spread ½ the meat and vegetable mixture over the tortillas. Sprinkle with one cup of the cheese.
6
For the next layer, start with salsa again. At this stage it is easier to dollop the salsa strategically across the pan. Add the final 6 tortillas, then the rest of the meat and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.
.

About

You could certainly spice this dish up with the addition of jalapeños to the vegetables and/or higher heats of salsa. I also think ground turkey or shredded chicken would make a great meat substitution and if you are a fan of beans, you could add that as a layer. You can also experiment with a variety of cheeses depending on your preference.

Yield:

8

Added:

Saturday, April 2, 2011 - 2:01pm

Creator:

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