Taco Casserole

Michelle really wanted tacos one night. The problem was, Zack's neck was still giving him problems. Tacos require one to be able to tilt their head to the side. So, we created this amazingly tasty taco casserole instead. It's going in the regular rotation. The best thing about this casserole, is you can alter it to fit your tastes.

Here's what you need:

1 lb. ground beef (we used 85% lean ground chuck)

1 medium onion

1 cup salsa

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 can black beans

1 cup sour cream

1 can diced green chilis (Michelle bought the right ones this time!)

1 package tortillas

3 plum (Roma) tomatoes

2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Here's what you do:

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Start by dicing your onion. A medium dice will do. The onion is going to cook down with the meat.

Toss your meat and onion in a 12" skillet and let it brown away.

While the meat is doing it's thing, seed and dice your tomato.

Drain and rinse your beans. Oops, forgot the picture.

Slice your tortillas.

Combine your sour cream and green chilis.

Once there's absolutely NO pink left on the meat, add the salsa.

Then the beans.

And finally the cumin and chili powder. Give that a good stir. Let that simmer for a few minutes to thicken up.

Now, we build our casserole.

Spray a 9" x 13" casserole dish with cooking spray. Scoop half of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the dish. We actually added a little bit more after the picture was taken and we realized it wasn't covering the bottom.

Top with half of the green chili sour cream and smooth it out.

Now, layer on your tortillas.

And top with half the cheese and tomato.

Now repeat.

Meat. Sour cream. Tortillas. Cheese & tomato.

That was a little redundant, sorry.

Now, just toss that in your oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the tortillas have crisped up.

You can also throw in some sliced black olives, scallions, or cilantro.

Enjoy!