The Best Taco Salad Dish in Southern California

Taco or Mexican Casserole is a great family dish to have on hand.Photo bywww.cookingclassy.com website

Taco Casserole is one of the most popular fast-go-to dishes that families love to cook in America. It doesn't take a lot of care or time to prepare, and it will please most every palate. It's easy to make to eat now, or you can freeze it and heat it up later. You can even make it the night before and heat it in the oven once you get home from work or when the family is ready to eat.

Taco's are a huge favorite in the U.S., so it just makes sense to make a casserole that tastes like tacos. When you look at the origin of tacos, there is no real specific date, but most feel it was the indigenous people in Mexico that invented it. The Spaniards invaded and looked down on some Mexican foods and wanted wheat to be the staple in some foods over corn for religious reasons.

Here is an easy way to enjoy the taco casserole.

Taco (Mexican) Casserole:

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow or red onion
• 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey or ground chicken
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup frozen corn or canned corn drained if canned
• 15-ounce can black beans (pinto beans can be a substitute) rinsed and drained
• 1 ½ cups jarred or homemade salsa divided
• 8 corn tortillas
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend, 2 cups
• Optional Toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, avocado, chopped red or green onion, fresh tomatoes, black olives, sour cream, etc.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
• Add the ground beef to the pan and cook, crumbling, until browned. Drain off any excess grease.
• Then add the chopped bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
• Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt, pepper, corn, black beans, and 1 cup of the salsa. Stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat.
• Spread the remaining ½ cup salsa in the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish.
• Lay 4 of the tortillas in the baking dish, arranging them so that they cover the bottom of the dish as best as possible.
• Spread ⅔ of the beef mixture over the tortillas and top with ⅓ of the shredded cheese.
• Lay the remaining 4 tortillas on top, followed by the remaining beef mixture and then the remaining cheese.
• Cover the dish with foil (first spray the underside of the foil with cooking spray to prevent the cheese from sticking to it). Bake for 25 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 5-10 more minutes, until hot and bubbly and cheese just starts to brown. Serve with toppings as desired.