Updated Taco Casserole

Just like many of you, I often troll Pinterest looking for recipe ideas for dinner. We’ve felt like we’ve been a food rut for a while, so it’s been happening more and more often. I’ve been smart lately and printing recipes we loved with substitutions to stick in our meal planning binder (more about that to come!) so that I can easily find and add them to our meal rotation in the future.

Image Courtesy of Wannabe Chefette on AllRecipes.com

Tonight, I found this gem and decided to make it. I loosely followed the quantities listed, but changed a few things and it was wonderful so I’m adding my version of the Taco Casserole here on TBP.

• ground beef
• jar of salsa
• can of red beans, drained and rinsed
• tortilla chips, crushed
• sour cream (I would recommend 1.5 times the called for amount if you love sour cream like us because it will soak up in the recipe)
• guacamole
• diced green onion
• diced tomatoes
• sliced black olives, drained
• copies amounts of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (we’re sharp cheese people!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown and drain ground beef; add salsa and beans and heat until liquid is gone/beans are warm. Put the crushed chips in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish and layer beef mixture on top. Spread sour cream overtop beef and then guacamole overtop sour cream. Sprinkle green onions and tomatoes, then cover with cheese. Lastly, top with olives as desired (in our family, I’m the only one who doesn’t like olives). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

Everyone in our family loved it, including Clark, whose favorite foods right now are tomatoes and olives. We’ll definitely be making it again with the substitutions!