Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Mexican Casserole

I reeeeeally love Mexican food. It's got to be my favorite ethnic cuisine, and I will almost never turn it down. I developed this Mexican casserole as an easy and fairly quick way to get my Mexican food fix and of course, guacamole is always a complimentary side : )


Ingredients:

Layer 1 (bottom)
Tortilla Chips

Layer 2
2 TB Butter
Diced Onion
1/2 lb Ground Beef
Beef Broth (From Bullion)
Cumin
Turmeric
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder
Lime/Lemon Juice
Diced Tomato
Frozen Mexican Style Veggies


Layer 3
Rice
Diced Onion
Diced Tomato
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder
Lime/Lemon Juice

Layer 4
Refried Beans

Layer 5
Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Blend Cheese

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350˚ F
-Spread tortilla chips on the bottom of a 9x9 pan.  
-Layer 2: Melt butter in frying pan and saute onions for a couple minutes. Add beef stock and meat as well as all spices. Break meat down and allow it to simmer. After about 5 minutes, add the frozen veggies. Cover on medium heat for another 5-10 minutes allowing most of the water to cook out. Add lime/lemon juice and the diced tomato. Allow the rest of the water to cook out of the meat. Spread the meat mixture over the chips.
-Layer 3: Cook rice as you normally would. After about 10 minutes add the other ingredients and let most of the water cook out of the mixture. If there is still some water in it it's fine. Spread over top of meat.
-Spread refried beans on top of rice.
-Sprinkle cheese on top of beans.
-Cook 20-30 minutes or until cheese is completely melted but not quite browning.

 
Guacamole:

Ripe Avocado
Salt
Garlic Powder
Cilantro
Lime Juice
Diced Tomato
Diced Onion, Preferably Red

Split avocado in half and peel the skin away. Mash with a fork or a pastry blender. Add spices and lime juice to taste. Chop onion finely and dice tomatoes then add to mixture. Stir until well combined. Be sure to do a taste test to see if it's the right balance of ingredients.

Note: You can tell an avocado's ripe when it's soft to the touch and the skin has a purple-brown tinge to it. 

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