Mexican Taco Casserole

Our family loves Mexican food.  Some like it hot and then the cook (me) likes it bland.  Not a good combination when fixing a Mexican dinner.  I usually set out the cayenne pepper for my hot lovers to put more heat into their meal.  This works for me!

This Mexican Taco casserole fit the bill for easy and fed an army which is what we had for dinner tonight.  Different married kids started hearing that siblings were coming to my house which made all of the them come.  Thank goodness for casseroles that can be stretched to feed the army arriving.  The best part was my daughter's in laws decided to make the meal!  I sat back and enjoyed the grandkids.  They liked the break of not having babies underfoot; I enjoyed not fixing dinner!  Great combination.

So this was a recipe adapted from recipe.com.  They changed it to fit our families food preferences.  The new drink (Horchata) that will be featured in August newsletter is a great addition to this meal.  Stay tuned for that post soon.

Mexican Taco Casserole
serves 20!

4# lean ground beef browned
4 cups chunky salsa
4 16oz cans refried beans (homemade refried beans are better!)
1/2 cup to 1 cup taco seasoning (the lovers of heat will use more!)
2 bunches green onions chopped
7 tomatoes chopped
1 can chopped black olives (optional)
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
4 cups lettuce shredded (check out the tip below!)
1 large bag broken tortilla chips

Line the large stainless steel lasagna pan with the broken tortilla chips.  Brown the hamburger meat.  Add the salsa, taco seasoning and refried beans and simmer for at least 10 minutes until bubbling.

Pour meat mixture over the broken tortilla chips.  Top in order with chopped onions, chopped olives, shredded cheese and 1/2 of chopped tomatoes.  Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbling.  Remove and top with remaining tomatoes and shredded lettuce.

Note from Paula:  Did you know that the Bosch Universal slicer/shredder can shred your head lettuce in moments beautifully?  It was great to have the shredded lettuce in moments to top this casserole.  I love the Bosch Universal Mixer as it is the perfect kitchen tool to do all my jobs.  I love having my machine do my jobs.  It saves sooo much time!  You will love it!