Recipe of the Week: Taco Casserole

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef
2 tsp chili powder
1.5 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 medium white onion, diced
2 green peppers, diced
2 medium russet potatoes, cut into small dice (about 2 cups) ( I used three red potatoes)
3/4 cup salsa
1 (4 oz) can of mild green chiles, drained (I used two cans of diced tomatoes with chiles in mine)
1 (4 oz) can slice black olives, drained
1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained
2 eggs, beaten

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef. While it’s browning, add in minced garlic and white onion and incorporate them well with the beef
While it’s browning, add the green peppers, potatoes, salsa, green chiles, black olives, and diced tomatoes to a large casserole dish
Once the beef is mostly browned, transfer it to a strainer and strain out all of the excess greases. Place back into the pan and mix in all of the spices and incorporate well
Then, transfer the taco meat and onion mixture into the casserole dish along with the beaten eggs, and use a large spoon to stir in with the other ingredients. Once it’s well combined and evenly distributed, cover with foil or lid, place it in the oven, and bake for 45 minutes-1 hour, or until the potatoes are baked all the way through when pierced with a fork
Remove from the oven and serve on a bed of greens like a taco salad, and/or top with avocado/guacamole, pico, shredded lettuce, more black olives, sliced jalapeno, sour cream

An interesting dinner for a busy night, taco casserole can be served as a taco salad or nachos. It’s full of flavor and well worth a try.

For my variation, I left out the olives because we are not big olive eaters in this house. I also used two cans of diced tomatoes with chiles into because I could not find the can of mild green chiles at my local supermarket. I served it over tortilla chips with melted cheddar cheese on top.

We both really enjoyed this meal. However, the potatoes didn’t really add much to the dish and neither did the eggs. I think next time I make this I’ll be leaving them out. This was a really easy dish to make especially if you’re in a hurry.

Here are the nutrition facts, CALORIES: 518, FAT: 28, CARBOHYDRATES: 31, FIBER: 6.1, and PROTEIN: 37.8 G. The recipe came from Pinterest, and here is the link to the original https://www.wholekitchensink.com/taco-casserole/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes&utm_term=970613542_43340662_188358#tasty-recipes-8229-jump-target.

Laura Hewell