Smothered Tacos

Okay, so this may not look too pretty on the plate, but it was oh so tasty! I found this on a blog (sorry to the original poster, I forgot to jot down your address) a couple of months ago, and while it has been really warm here, I just felt like making a casserole one night. Growing up, my mom very, very rarely made casseroles; I am not sure if it was because she refused to use the oven on a week night (due to peak electricity hours) or if it was because she just didn't like them. Even though I had a lack of casseroles during my early years, I somehow came to love all things casserole! I told my mom once that I should have been raised in the mid-west where casseroles are king, rather than the hot desert where we grill year round! So while those that live in colder climates relish the moment that they are able to fire up their grills and sit outside, I prefer to crank down my air conditioning and throw a casserole in the oven!

I made this recipe as written, but I think it could be easily adapted for vegetarians and non beef eaters alike, by either using more beans or substituting ground turkey. I really enjoyed this; even though it was 105 degrees outside, so I can only imagine how much more I will enjoy it when it drops below 70 degrees here (and yes, I know, I am in for quite a wait)!

P.S. The original poster called this Enchilada Casserole, but I felt that the name wasn't quite right, so I am re-naming it Smothered Tacos!

Smothered Tacos

1 lb. ground beef (or ground meat of your choice)

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 (14.5 oz.) can Refried Beans (I used Spicy Jalapeno!)

1 pkg. hard taco shells (I ended up only using 8 shells)

1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed tomato soup

1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (16 oz.) can red enchilada sauce

1 c. shredded Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef in a large skillet; drain fat. Add the taco seasoning and water as directed on taco packet; simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, spread refried beans evenly among the 8 taco shells, top with taco meat. Lay in a 9x13 pan.

Mix soups and enchilada sauces together, spread over the top of the taco shells. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly! Serve with sour cream if desired.

Burrito Bake

I am a creature of habit. Like clockwork, I always do my laundry on Sundays, it is the one routine that I never vary from (too bad I can't be like that with my gym routine!). Since I know that my Sundays will inevitably be filled with hanging around the house and switching loads from the washer to the dryer, I usually like to make a nice meal since I have plenty of time to dither around in the kitchen. But on this particular Sunday, I wasn't in the mood for any experimentation, so I decided that I wanted to stick with something more classic that I could whip up quickly and then go on about my business around the house. I had gone to breakfast (is it still called this if you go at noon?) with Laura and Karen that day, and since I had not had any Mexican food, I knew that I wasn't yet ready to give up on my personal challenge; so I had to make something Mexican!

I decided to go with the Burrito Bake. I had found this recipe on the Recipezaar website a few months back, tried it out and loved it...and it is so easy!!! The cool part about it is you can alter the ingredients based on your tastes; I have made it with ground turkey and black beans, and even threw in some corn once! But Sunday night I stuck to the original recipe....because classics never go out of style!

Burrito Bake

adapted from Recipezaar

1 lb ground beef
1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 (1 1/4 oz.) envelope taco seasoning
1 (8 oz.) package crescent rolls
2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese

Optional Toppings:
chopped green pepper, shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, sour cream, sliced ripe avocado

In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the beans and taco seasoning; and heat through.

Unroll crescent roll dough. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish; seal seams and perforations.

Spread beef mixture over crust; sprinkle with cheeses.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with toppings of your choice.

I topped mine with some light sour cream and avocado slices......yummy yummy!