Taco Salad Casserole

I found this recipe on Pinterest and knew I needed to make it. I meal plan for a whole month at a time. It makes shopping with two kids easier, since I only have to go once a month. This recipe wasn't on the menu, BUT tacos were. I try to still be flexible with meals even if they aren't exactly what was on the menu. I made some small changes and there are all kinds of things you can do to make it work for you. I love recipes that are easy to adapt and we fell in love with this one on the first bite. While Dean and I loved it, Bo was not thrilled about the lettuce, tomatoes, or peppers. I guess I didn't do a good job hiding those.

The original recipe that I adapted can be found here. 

Taco Salad Casserole

Ingredients

• 1lb lean ground meat-venison, turkey, hamburger
• 1/2-3/4 cup fat free refried beans
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 green pepper
• 1 tomato
• 1 cup lettuce
• 2 ½ cups crushed multigrain tortilla chips-I just used all the broken pieces from the bottom of the bag
• ½ pkg taco seasoning or homemade taco seasoning-I use cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. Brown meat
3. Add refried beans, salsa, and taco seasoning. Reduce heat to medium until boiling, then remove from heat.
4. Crush 2 C chips and place into bottom of 9x13 pan
5. Cut pepper and tomato
6. Pour meat mixture over chips and spread evenly.
7. Sprinkle pepper on top.
8. Place uncovered in oven and bake for 20-25 min.
9. Remove from oven.
10. Sprinkle the lettuce, tomato, and remaining ½ cup chips on top.
11. Eat!!

The best thing about this casserole is that you can use more or less of the ingredients and even use different toppings or add more. You could also add jalapeños or black olives, use black beans instead of refried, etc. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! It is definitely a recipe we will be making again. 

-Rach