RICH TACO CASSEROLE
This was a delicious and substantial meal. This Mexican casserole really tasted as if there were refried beans in it which was rather interesting - from the addition of cream cheese, I think, which gave it a richer taste and improved the texture. I had
fun garnishing the casserole, but you can get creative with that, too. Black olives would be good as well instead of
the stuffed green ones. I didn’t
have any black olives in the house.
Great served with sour cream and even in low-carb “flour” tortillas or
cheese tacos or simply served with a sweet mustard mixture of peppers, mushrooms and onions. I know that sounds weird, but that’s what I
did and I loved it. I love mixing savory
and sweet flavors. You could even serve stir-fried cauli rice with this or
guacamole, a regular salad or sliced avocado.
If you prefer you could make this in a crock-pot. I would just add the cream cheese and green chilies in the last hour of cooking. That would make the ground beef and tomatoes much finer in texture. If you like, you can put this mixture in a low-carb tortilla with some grated Cheddar cheese as well. Serve with sour cream.
2
lbs lean ground beef (1.9 kg)
1
tbsp olive oil (15 mL)
1 tbsp chili powder (15 mL)
13/4
tsp salt (8 mL)
1
tsp dried parsley (5 mL)
1
tsp black pepper (5 mL)
3/4 tsp ground
cumin (3 mL)
1/2 tsp
turmeric (2 mL)
1/2 tsp
dried oregano (2 mL)
1/2 tsp
onion powder, optional (2 mL)
1/4 tsp paprika
(1 mL)
14.5
oz can diced tomatoes (411 g)
8 oz cream cheese, cut up (250 mL)
4.5 oz can green chilies (127 g)
(use half if
you want it less spicy)
Toppings:
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese (250 mL)
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese (250 mL)
Sliced Avocado, optional
Chopped Tomato, optional
Olives, optional
Sour cream, optional
Preheat
the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In
large, nonstick frying pan, brown ground beef over medium heat. Once browned, stir in olive oil. Sprinkle in the spices; chili powder, salt,
parsley, pepper, cumin, turmeric, oregano, onion powder (if using) and paprika.
Stir well to combine the spices with the meat. In blender, blend diced tomatoes
and add along with cream cheese and green chilies to the meat. Keep stirring occasionally until all the
cream cheese has melted and has been incorporated. Pour meat mixture, which will be quite thick into a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33
cm) baking dish. Sprinkle top of
casserole with grated Cheddar cheese. Let
the casserole sit until the warm casserole has melted the Cheddar cheese. Then sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese in
diagonal rows, leaving spaces in between.
Bake
15 to 20 minutes until the Mozzarella cheese has melted.
Garnish the top of the casserole with avocado, chopped tomatoes, olives
and a light sprinkle of grated Cheddar cheese (do this just before serving to make the
casserole look even more enticing).
Serve immediately.
Yield: 9 servings
1
serving
425.1
calories
28.1
g protein
32.6
g fat
1.0 g fiber
3.4
g net carbs
ANOTHER COUPLE OF RECIPES YOU MAY ENJOY:
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