Beefy Taco Casserole

My husband was in the pantry one night and made note of all the corn chips that were broken up in their bags. I asked him to not throw them out that I would come up with a recipe to use them in and this is what I came up with. It was a huge hit with the kids, my daughter in her words "this is like a huge pan of Nachos Mom". There literally were no left overs crumbs weren't even left.

1 pound ground beef

2 tbsp coconut oil (divided)

1 yellow onion diced

4 cloves garlic minced

1 jalapeno diced

1 red bell pepper diced

1 can diced green chillis

1 small can sliced black olives

1 large bag of corn chips

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 16 oz can of black beans

3 green onions sliced

1 tsp each salt and pepper

1 1/2 tsp cumin divided

1/2 tsp dry Mexican oregano

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp chili powder divided

chicken stock for deg-lazing the pan

3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425

In a Saute pan cook your ground beef until browned in 1 tbsp coconut oil, then season with 1/2 tbsp chili powder, 3/4 tsp cumin, Salt and pepper, oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Mix seasonings into the meat well then remove the beef from pan and set aside.

Add in the remaining coconut oil and add in all the veggies (Yellow onion, jalapeno, red bell pepper and can of green chillis) and cook until softened then add in 2 tbsp tomato paste and mix well after that you need to deglaze the pan with chicken stock to scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan, add in the ground beef and mix well adding in chicken stock as needed but making sure not to make the mixture too soupy. Once you've mixed the mixture together well you can remove from heat and set aside.

In a 13x9 casserole dish make sure to grease well with coconut oil then cover the bottom with corn chips and layer 1/2 the meat mixture onto the tortilla chips. Drain and rinse your beans and spoon 1/2 the beans over the top of the meat and sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the top of the beans.

Repeat the process by adding a layer of chips then the remaining meat and beans then a cup of cheese over the top and then sprinkle another layer of chips over and top with the remaining cheese (1 cup) sprinkle the top with black olives. Cover casserole with foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes then remove the foil. Place dish back in oven under broil until the cheese has slightly browned. Remove from oven and sprinkle green onions over the top.

Let cool 5 mins serve with your favorite Guacamole and sour cream.

Recipe serves 6-8 people

Enjoy! I know my family did!

#Mexican #Casserole #Unami