Southwestern Soft Taco Casserole

Our grandsons...a happy band of brothers.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I am back home and ready, really ready, to take up whisk and spoon and create again in my own familiar and well-equipped kitchen. The break from routine and repetition was really needed and the time spent with family was simply priceless. As you can see, our grandsons are growing like over-fertilized weeds and our time with them, while short, is treasured. On reflection, I, too, am often tempted to say to the passing moment, "Stay, thou art so fair." Instead, I worked my way through blog related email tonight and hope to catch up with your comments and questions tomorrow morning. Thanks so much for your patience and continued support in my absence. The posts for the remainder of this week will be simple, but scrumptious, vacation fare. Next week, at the request of the Silver Fox, who, at the moment, is up to his ears in pasta and ground beef, I'll be featuring dishes from France and the Mediterranean. They are not at all toney, but I know you'll enjoy them.

The recipe I'm featuring tonight is one my younger daughter prepared for us while we were in New Hampshire. It is fast, easy and delicious and, better still, quantities can be doubled or tripled when you have a gang to feed. It can be made well in advance of serving and it also freezes well, freeing you for other chores or time with family and friends. Her version of the recipe uses just 7 ingredients, and, while it varies slightly, I think the recipe first appeared in Taste of Home magazine with a slightly expanded ingredient list. Optional ingredients in the recipe below are highlighted in red. If you have not yet sampled this casserole, I hope you'll give it a try. Here's the recipe.






Southwestern Soft Taco Casserole...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Melissa Mabe and Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup water
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 ounces) Mexican diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 ounces) corn, drained
6 flour tortillas (8 inches), cut in half
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) In a large skillet, cook beef, and, if using, green pepper and onion, over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add water and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Stir in black beans, tomatoes and corn. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
3) Place four tortilla halves in bottom of a greased 13 x 9-in. baking dish. If using, spread tortillas with half of refried beans. Then spread with half of beef mixture and sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese.
4) Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. Yield: 9 servings.

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