Taco Casserole

There are times when a recipe looks good on paper (or on the screen) but turns out to be a huge disappointment (disaster, failure, mistake, fiasco ... which ever you prefer).  Sometimes unfortunately, one who goes on a new recipe spree may end up with 2 or even 3 of these mishaps in a row.  You know your family is about to rebel when they look like this at the supper table:

So when we have had one too many dinner failures I turn to a surefire hit - Taco Casserole.  It has all the elements of a taco dinner in a casserole dish.

Sometime I get fancy schmancy and mix up my own taco seasoning and make homemade refried beans.  Other nights, like last night, opening cans and packages is the way to go.  I originally spied this recipe in an old Taste of Home magazine and then found it again on food.com.  I have found that you need to use thicker salsa (and I drain it) or else the dish can get watery.  We initially tried the method of placing the chips on the bottom of the casserole dish only to find that we didn't much care for the soggy chips reheated.  The kids like to use tortilla chips to scoop it up.

 

Taco Casserole

Taste of Home magazine

 

1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 (15 ounce) can refried beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups salsa
2 green onions, chopped
1 small can sliced black olives
1 tomato, chopped
Tortilla chips or corn chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a square casserole dish with cooking spray.

 

Brown ground beef and drain. Add taco seasoning and cook according to package directions, adding proper amount of water (I use the juice from the salsa I drained).

Warm the refried beans on stove until hot, pull off the heat and add 1 cup cheese and the drained salsa salsa. Stir until combined.  Spread beans in a square casserole dish
 

Sprinkle the beef over the beans.  Top with the remaining cheese, green onions and black olives. Bake about 15 minutes, until the cheese is sufficiently melted and the casserole starts to bubble.  Add the tomatoes on the top and let sit for 5 minutes to set.