When I was growing up, my mom made the best tacos ever! She made dozens of them because that is how many everyone would eat because they were so good. My skinny brother-in-law, Joe, once ate 11 of them! Well, the next day or two later, we would eat all of the left over taco ingredients in this casserole. It is such a delicious thing. I have made it many times for my own family, and I have taken it to potlucks and fed families that needed a meal with this casserole and have always received rave reviews. The way I make it has evolved over the years, but it has that same basic goodness that I remember from when I was a kid.
I made tacos on Sunday, so yesterday I made South of the Border Casserole. This is how it went together:
After the ground beef is browned, drain off the fat, then add 2 T. of taco seasoning, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 can diced tomatoes, (plus the leftover diced tomatoes from taco night), and half of the tomato can of water. Stir and heat all together. Finally I threw in a half a bunch of cilantro, chopped.
If you want, you can even throw in a can or corn or some sliced olives. I have done the corn, but I don't like olives, so I leave those out.
Now, you need to get out your casserole dish and your leftover corn tortillas. I wasn't sure if I had enough tortillas left, so I also pulled out some left over Fritos. *Spray your casserole with non-stick spray. *Put a little sauce in the bottom of the casserole and spread it around. Not too much, just enough to cover. *Tear the tortillas into quarters and lay them over the sauce to cover with one layer. *This is where I like to add a layer of sour cream or cottage cheese. I used cottage cheese this time, like you might do in a lasagna. But, you don't have to put either one if you don't want to or don't have any. *Now, spread a layer of shredded cheese over the cottage cheese. * Repeat the layers as follows: Tortillas (and a sprinkling of Fritos if necessary), sauce, cheese, tortillas, sauce cheese. It will look like this:
I have had this casserole dish my entire married life. But, when I had all of my kids at home, I made this in a larger dish. Now, I am not cooking for an army, so I have cut back a little. The struggle is real.
Put the casserole into a 350 degree oven and bake it, uncovered, for 30-45 min. It will smell so good!
South of the Border Casserole
Sauce: 1 lb. ground beef 1 small onion, chopped 2 T. taco seasoning 1 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. garlic 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro 1 can chopped tomatoes (and any extra fresh leftovers you may have). 1/2 tomato can of water Brown the beef with the onions. Drain. Add the seasonings and tomatoes, water and cilantro. Blend all together and simmer while you get your other ingredients ready: About 6 or so left over corn tortillas, quartered 2-3 c. shredded cheese Sour cream or cottage cheese (optional) Spray your casserole with cooking spray. Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of the dish. Place a layer of tortillas on top of the sauce. Add the sour cream or cottage cheese if you are using it. Next, put a layer or the shredded cheese. The next layer is tortillas again, then sauce, then cheese. Repeat until you are out of everything, or the casserole is filled up. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 min.
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When you are feeding a family of 8, casseroles become a mainstay on your weekly menu. My children got so that they did not appreciate casseroles as much as I did, but there were a few that they loved and even requested at times. This Chicken Enchilada Casserole is probably the hands-down winner of the most requested casserole award in our house. I would usually make it in the oven, but when it is too hot to turn on the oven for a casserole, then the crock pot is the answer! This casserole only has to be in the crock pot on high for about an hour, so you don't even have to plan ahead that far, except to defrost the chicken. I made mine in my regular crock pot. But, look at this casserole style crock pot! That would be so great for baking and serving casseroles on the dinner table, no more reaching down deep into the crock. Here is the recipe.
Chicken Enchilada Casserole in the Crock Pot
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks. 2 T. Taco seasoning Brown in the chicken chunks in 2 T. of vegetable oil, season with the Taco seasoning, and cook until no pink is left in the chicken. 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 c. sour cream 1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro 1 T. cumin 1 c. water or chicken broth 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 or a 15 oz bag of Doritos or Fritos, slightly crushed (I use Nacho Cheese Doritos usually.) Mix the soups, sour cream, cilantro, cumin and water all together in the bottom of the crock pot. (Be sure you sprayed it with cooking spray!) After they are well combined, mix in the cheese. Add the chicken next, pan juices and all. Blend in the chips then smooth the mixture evenly in the bottom of the crock pot. Top with a little more cheese, put on the lid and bake on high for about an hour or so, until everything is bubbly.
You can also make this recipe in the oven during the winter. If you want to make it a larger recipe, just add more soup and another chicken breast. The cooking time will be about the same as this one. You will love it and so will your kids! Make a lot because everyone will want seconds. I like to serve it with extra chips.
Ever since I purchased this pumpkin soup tureen, I have been waiting for the moment that I would be able to put my Vegetable-Ham Bisque in it. The color of the soup is perfect for this Autumn themed pumpkin tureen. It rained really hard on Sunday, and this week the weather is only getting into the 80's! The mornings and the nights are actually a little brisk! Plus, don't forget, I purchased these beautiful squash!
So, soup had to be made. (Well actually, I still haven't brought myself to be able to cut the carousel squash. They are so beautiful! But, see the butternut squash on the right in the back? I used it for the soup. (If Walmart is all out, here is a similar tureen. And, I may have to get these little covered soup bowls for myself! (Probably two sets. Maybe three. Wouldn't they be cute sitting on the table as the opening soup course?) And, oh my goodness! Lindsey would love this set of pumpkin serving dishes!
I digress, let's make the soup to fill the dishes, shall we? Start with the vegetables. I peel everything for this dish because I don't want any random peels in the final product. I use a potato peeler to peel even the squash! It works really well. Then you cut it all into chunks and put it in a large pot...
You may remember from this post that the temperatures in Phoenix have been blazing and I am determined not to turn on my oven. But, what do you do when you have bananas that look like this?
, It seems like in the summer we don't eat them as quickly and they turn black before we know it. You can't make banana bread or muffins, it would take forever to cool the house back down to 80 degrees! One thing we like to do at our house is make po'i. In Tahiti, po'i isn't that pasty taro root stuff from Hawaii that you eat with your fingers wondering why you are eating it. In Tahiti, they make po'i out of fruit like papaya or bananas. It is a fruity type of pudding. My husband, many years ago before I met him, once served as a missionary in Tahiti. He lived there among the people on many of the outer atolls, as well as on some of the larger, more well known islands for two years. He loved the food there and one older woman who liked to cook for missionaries who appreciated her food gave him the recipe for po'i. It is super simple and very delicious. It looks kind of funny and when we first introduce it to people, they are wary of this strange looking stuff, but when they taste it, they usually convert! Try it! It is a fun addition to a Polynesian party. Hover and click on the photos for directions.
In our house, we like to spoon it warm, into bowls and then pour cold coconut milk on top of it. YUM! Even with the heat, just typing about this makes my mouth water! Let me know if you try it! Don't waste those black bananas, and don't turn on your oven!
**UPDATE: Now you can make Mango-Peach Po'e! Check it out!
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
June 2024
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