Nacho Casserole

Nacho Casserole

I have been crazy busy lately. I wanted something easy. I know that I serve a great deal of Tex-Mex dishes, but my husband loves them, they are usually easy and taste great. This casserole was even better the next day.

Another reason that I like these dishes is they are so forgiving and can be changed up to match your tastes and the food that you have on hand. I used Green Giant Steam Crisp Southwest Corn. This brand has black beans. However, you could use any corn. You could also stir in ½ can rinsed black beans. If you like heat, then stir in a few chopped hot peppers with the other veggies when you are cooking the meat mixture.

Servings: 6-8

Active time: 20 minutes; Cook: 45 minutes; Dinner in about 1 ½ hour

Hardware: A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a large heavy bottomed skillet, a small skillet, a can opener, a wooden spoon, a mixing bowl, a whisk, a silicone spatula, foil, a 11x 8 x 2 glass baking dish and a baking sheet

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds ground beef
• 1 small onion (½ cup, 4 oz)
• 1 small bell pepper (½ cup, 4 oz)
• 1-10 ounce can Ro-tel tomatoes-drained
• 1-11 ounce can Southwest corn-drained
• 1 cup taco sauce
• 1 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup tortilla chips-crushed
• 1 + 1 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Sour cream, chopped green onions, and black olives

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350˚.
2. Dice the onion and bell pepper, the smaller the better. In the skillet, brown the beef, onion, and pepper over medium. Cook and crumble until the beef is no longer pink. (About 7 minutes) Drain. Mix in the drained Ro-tel, corn, taco sauce, taco seasoning and cumin. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt.
3. While the meat mixture is simmering, melt the butter in the small skillet over medium. Whisk in the flour and continually stir until the roux is a light golden color. Remove from the heat. This roux will help bind the casserole and help it hold together when you cut it.
4. Mix the roux and 1 cup of the cheese into the meat mixture. Spoon everything into the glass baking dish. Cover it in foil. In case of boil over, place the dish on top of the baking dish and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the foil and top with the remaining cheese and crushed chips.  Bake for 5 minutes more or until the cheese melts.
6. Allow the casserole to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
7. Slice and top with sour cream, chopped green onions and black olives before serving.

.