Taco Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 1/4 cups chopped red onion or yellow onion

• 1 1/4 cups chopped red bell pepper

• 1 1/4 lbs. lean ground beef

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 Tbsp minced garlic

• 2 Tbsp chili powder*

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes

• 1 cup frozen corn

• 1/4 cup water or chicken broth

• 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving

• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese**

• 2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

• 15 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into halves

• Taco toppings (optional, see notes)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

• Heat oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper, saute 4 minutes. Scoot to the far side.

• Crumble in beef, season with salt and pepper. Let brown on bottom, then break up beef and continue to cook until browned. Drain fat.

• Add garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook 1 minute longer.

• Stir in black beans, tomatoes, corn, water, lime juice, and cilantro and remove from heat.

• To assemble casserole, layer 10 tortilla halves along bottom of baking dish, work to cover whole bottom surface as best possible.

• Spoon and spread 1/3 of the beef mixture over tortilla layer.

• Toss cheeses together and spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture over beef layer.

• Repeat this layering process with tortillas, beef filling and cheese two more times.

• Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes.

• Finish with optional toppings then cut into slices. Serve warm with lime wedges if desired.

Notes

• *If you’d like to make it spicy add 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (and more to taste) along with the chili powder. Or dice 1 – 2 a jalapeños and add along with the bell pepper.

• **For a quicker option you could use 4 cups pre-shredded Mexican blend cheese.

Taco ToppingsThese are optional but do add some delicious flavor if you’d like to add a few.

• Mexican hot sauce (such as Cholula or Tapatio)

• Sour cream

• Avocado

• Tomatoes

• Jalapeños

• Onions

• Radishes

• Cilantro or lettuce