Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

I made this casserole a few weeks ago because it was voted Casserole of the year by Taste of Home Magazine. Plus lets be honest, I never met a Mexican dish I didn't love! This casserole certainly did not disappoint and the best part it was so simple to put together. If you are a Vegetarian I think this would be great without meat and you could just add another type of beans or an additional veggie. I also think it would be great with ground turkey or shredded chicken if you don't like red meat. It was cheesy and filled with so many great flavors! I love making casseroles because I can make them earlier that day and then just pop them in the oven. I usually make them during nap time and then I have more time to spend with Sterling and Matt when he gets home (and more time to sit and sip my glass of wine). I highly recommend this, it was super tasty!

I promise it tastes better than my sad picture looks, but wanted to show you our "real life" picture of the casserole.


CHEESY ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
Ingredients
•1 pound lean ground beef ( lean)
•1 large onion, chopped or season with Onion powder or minced onion
•2 1/2 cups salsa
•1 can (15 ounces) black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
•1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing
•2 tablespoons reduced-sodium taco seasoning
•1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
•6 flour or corn tortillas (8 inches)
•1 small can of drained corn, or about 1 1/4 cups of frozen corn
•3/4 cup sour cream
•2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend or your favorite cheese
•1 cup shredded lettuce
•1 medium tomato, chopped
•1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro to garnish
• *Note: I cut the flour tortillas to fit my pan, since they were the very large size. I also added in a can of refried beans to the mix because I love refried beans. It is not in the original recipe but I thought it worked perfectly.

Directions
•In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
•Stir in the salsa, beans, corn, dressing, sour cream, taco seasoning and cumin.
•Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
•Place a flour or corn tortilla on top of meat mixture. Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat as many layers as you like.
•The last & final layer should be a healthy dose of grated cheese.
•Cover with foil that has been sprayed with pam or other and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.
• Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro. Yield: 8 servings

Top Two Photos and Recipe VIA