Taco Casserole

 

This taco casserole is based on one from marthastewart.com.  Feel free to adjust spices to your taste if you want it less or more spicy.  You can also switch up the beans--black beans, kidney beans, etc.  The recipe calls for ground beef but we try to limit red meat so I substituted ground turkey and it was just as good.  Enjoy whatever toppings you like--we put sour cream on ours but you could add a dollop of guacamole, chopped cilantro, olives, etc.  As usual, I didn't add any salt and I felt it was fine without it but season it however you like.

1 pound ground beef or turkey

Salt & pepper to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 green bell pepper, diced  

1 white onion, diced  

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 ½ teaspoons chili powder

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes

1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups yellow corn tortilla chips, slightly crushed

1 ¼ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese  

1 ¼ cup  shredded sharp cheddar cheese  

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a cast iron skillet (or oven safe skillet) heat 1 tablespoon oil.  Add ground beef and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cook until meat is browned.  Transfer to a colander to drain.

 

Discard excess oil, wipe out skillet with paper towel and add 1 tablespoon oil.  Add pepper and onion and cook until tender and browning. 

Add tomato paste and cook for one minute.

Return meat to pan.  Add spices, tomatoes, pinto beans and 2 tablespoons water.  Remove from heat.

 

Combine crushed tortilla chips and one cup of each cheese.  Top casserole with chip mixture followed by remaining cheese.

 

 

Bake until cheese is melted and golden in spots, approximately 3 minutes.

 

Serve with toppings of your choice.

Treat yourself to some armchair travel to England with my 

Open Book Series!

 Coming August 1

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

When murder taints writer-in-residence Penelope Parish’s charming British bookshop, she must follow the clues to catch a killer before tempers boil over.
 
Penelope Parish thought she’d turned the page on her amateur sleuthing days but when the owner of Upper Chumley-on-Stokes’ proposed first high-end gourmet shop is poisoned, the American novelist starts to wonder if she and her quaint British town are in for another rewrite. It turns out that not everyone was a fan of Simeon Foster’s farm-sourced charcuterie and imported pastries—many of the locals were outraged by the potential new competition.
 
With a full menu of suspects on her hands, this just might be Penelope’s toughest case yet. Luckily, her friends at the Open Book are there to help with every twist of the poisoned pen.