Taco Casserole

This is one of those recipes that I think I found somewhere online and immediately adapted and have made it from my head since then. It makes a 9x13 dish. When I made this ahead for supper last night I split it into a 7x9 and an 8x8.

I covered the 8x8 with cling wrap and then with aluminum foil and labeled it with the dish name and date stuck it in the freezer so we'll have supper for another night =)

What you'll need:
9x13 pan, or a 7x9 pan & 8x8 pan (or two of either!)
a large, deep skillet or pan. I use Anolon's Advanced 12" Covered Deep Skillet
pack of tortillas - the larger they are, the fewer you'll need
cooking spray
1 lb ground beef
Stoplight bell peppers (1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow ... or you can use orange ...)
1/2 onion
1 can black beans (I usually use the large can, but this time I used a small can)
1 can refried beans (I usually use the small can, but this time I used a large can)
cilantro
curry
garlic (you can cut up the cloves, or use the powder)
1 pk Ortega Fajita seasoning (my favorite!), if desired
1 small can of tomato paste, if desired
sour cream
hummus, if desired
shredded cheese of your choice

Directions:
Start out by browning the ground beef in the skillet.

While this is browning, cut up your onion and bell peppers. Drain grease from beef, add onion and peppers, & season with the garlic, curry, and cilantro. (I really don't know how much I use. Probably a heaping teaspoon of curry and 2 heaping teaspoons of garlic and cilantro? Its really up to how you want it to taste!)

After the onions begin to become see-through, add the black beans and then the refried beans. Mix well and let simmer awhile. This lets the flavors really mix well. Make sure you stir it from time to time so that everything cooks and nothing gets burned.

Meanwhile, spray your pan(s) with the Pam. Be generous - I didn't spray enough this past time and it was very hard to get the bottom layer of tortillas up when serving!

Put tortillas on the bottom of your dish(es) - they will go up the sides as well, this is what its supposed to do. Try and cover as much of the bottom of the dish as possible. Sometimes you'll need to rip a tortilla in half to get the appropriate coverage.

If you're using hummus, I also recommend that you put a layer of hummus on the tortillas. (I put it on top of the sour cream this past time and that just kindof mixes in ... should've just premixed it with the sour cream, really! but I think putting it on the bottom would work nicely and be less messy.)

Also, put the amount of sour cream you want to use (you'll need to be able to cover the dish with it twice) in a separate container and add ... I guess I add about a couple teaspoons?? of garlic in the sour cream, and mix. (I'm really not sure on these seasoning measurements.)

If you're using the can of tomato paste, go ahead and open it and mix in the pack of fajita seasoning.

If you shred your own cheese (like I do) go ahead and take care of that now as well.

Preheat oven to 350-400 degrees (I'd recommend the higher temperature if it was in the refrigerator overnight and most of the day like mine was.)

After your mix on the stove has simmered out most of its liquid, spoon it into your dish on top of the tortillas (and hummus). Spoon and spread the sour cream mix on top of it. If you are using the tomato paste mix, spread it on top of the sour cream. Top with cheese (I like mine cheesy!).

Put another layer of tortillas down, put hummus on top. Spoon the rest of the beef/bean mixture on top. Spread the rest of the sour cream on top, and then the rest of the tomato paste mix. Top with cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and put in the oven for 45-60 minutes.

If you made your dish ahead of time, set out to unrefridgerate for at least half an hour. Mine took longer than I was expecting to heat up in the middle once I put it in the oven. I've only made this dish day-of before, so I'm figuring out what to do if you make it ahead of time. :-)

After the dish is warm in the middle and a little bubbly, take off the foil for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is browned on top.

Voila! I hope that wasn't too confusing. This is a highly versatile dish, so feel free to take and add to it - let me know what you do and how it turns out!

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