Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Crunchy Mexican Casserole

Casseroles and Mexican-themed dishes are always in high demand in my household. However, sometimes it feels like I'm making a different version of the same meal on a regular basis. I decided to throw together my own Mexican casserole using ground beef and a handful of pantry staples, and created something I'm going to call Crunchy Mexican Casserole. A secret ingredient in this casserole is hominy. I'll be honest--I had never used this ingredient before. In fact, I didn't even know what it was. Is it a bean? A grain? A pasta? Turns out it's a corn product. Which means it's technically a vegetable. Score!

My family requests this casserole all the time, so I thought I'd share the recipe with any other casserole-Mexican-food-loving readers out there. Enjoy!

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Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
15 oz can Mexican-style hominy
16 oz jar salsa verde
8 oz queso (I use On the Border or Tostito's)
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups shredded cheese
3/4 bag tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start by cooking your ground beef. When it's heated through, drain any excess grease and stir in your taco seasoning with a splash of water. Then add your queso, salsa verde, and hominy. Stir well and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

While your meat mixture is simmering, shred your cheese. I use a combination of Colby Jack and Cheddar and find it works well. I'm sure Pepper Jack would taste good as well if you don't mind the added kick. When your cheese is shredded, crush your tortilla chips into smaller pieces and begin layering your ingredients into a 9x13 casserole dish. I spray the bottom with a bit of cooking spray to keep the chips from sticking.

First, pour some crushed chips onto the bottom of the casserole dish. Secondly, pour half of your meat mixture over the chips. Thirdly, add one cup of shredded cheese. Repeat these steps one more time until you have used all of your ingredients.

Put your casserole in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

We love the texture the chips and hominy give the dish and the salsa verde gives it a delicious tangy flavor. And who can complain about all of that gooey cheese. MmmMmm!

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