Thursday, January 5, 2012

Beefy Southwestern Casserole

So this is basically a hamburger helper but way more delicious.  When I tasted this it was amazing.  Also super easy to make.  Originally I was making tacos but I got lazy and made a casserole instead.

Potential other names for this dish:
Beefy Burrito Casserole
Taco Pasta Casserole
Beefy Taco Casserole
and the list goes on...

If you wanted to add things like fresh peppers and onions that would be great in here too.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of pasta- your choice.  I used half whole wheat rotini and half regular elbows
  • 1 1/2 lb of ground beef
  • 1 cup of salsa
  • 1 cup of cheddar cheese, plus a little more for sprinkling on top
  • 1 can of beans, drained and rinsed- I obviously used black beans
  • 1 can of corn, drained
  • 1 packet of taco seasoning (usually I make my own but we all cut corners sometimes)
Directions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Boil water for the pasta, cook until al dente, drain and reserve
  3. (If you are adding fresh ingredients like peppers or onion cook them in the skillet before the meat.  Cook only a couple minutes then incorporate them into the meat while browning.)
  4. In a skillet brown the meat and crumble.  I followed the directions on the taco seasoning packet- when the meat is brown, drain and then add the seasoning and about 1 cup of water.  Heat until thick.
  5. In a big bowl or right in a large 9 x 13 casserole dish mix the pasta, meat, cheese (leave some for the top!), salsa, beans and corn.
  6. Sprinkle the top with some cheese, cover and pop in the oven for 20 minutes. 
  7. If you wanted a brown cheesy top- turn on your broiler, remove the foil and let it sit under the broiler a couple minutes until brown and bubbly.
  8. Top with jalapenos, sour cream, more salsa etc- whatever you like on your tacos!

1 comment:

Kelly | Eat Yourself Skinny said...

Wow this looks fantastic, love your recipe! Fabulous blog you have, so glad to be a new follower! xoxo

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