Sunday, July 9, 2017

Easy Taco Casserole!




















 My husband loves tacos... actually, we all love them. Since it takes a LOT of tacos to feed my large family... and since that isn't cheap or fast, I keep experimenting for something easier.

We have taco salad often as my family loves that too. My husband always has tacos for his birthday and yet, he told me to make something easier this year as I have been so busy and overloaded.

I still wanted to make something "taco-like" without making taco salad. This recipe turned out to be similar to both foods and we all loved it.... my husband thought it was great for his birthday.

I started out with tortilla chips in two 9" x 13" pans (remember, I have a big family and I made what would be a double batch of the recipe shown below.). I had cooked hamburger and put 2 cans of petite diced tomatoes in it and 2 packages of taco seasoning  and some salsa, then cooked it down a bit. It smelled great.

I put that over all of the tortilla chips, then put cheese on it. Normally, I would used shredded cheese, but I used the cheeses we had... some cheddar, some Monterey Jack , some hot pepper jack and even a bit of Swiss. Like I said, things were really busy and hadn't done my shopping for a while, so I was thankful to find this much available.I wanted it to be quite cheesy.

Then I baked it for a while.  It smelled great!

































 I dished up some on each plate and it looked like this.


















 Then we added sliced lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream.

 I would have added shredded sharp cheddar over the top because it would look nice, but I used the cheese on the casserole. It would have improved it visually, but it was great anyway!






















 I love all of those colors together... and the cool fresh veggies on the hot seasoned casserole.

We also added just a bit of ranch dressing over the plate, which was a great finishing touch! 












I also loved all of the melted cheese. Yum!














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                                     EASY TACO CASSEROLE

1 pound hamburger, cooked
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 package Taco seasoning
1/2 cup salsa
                .......................................................Cook together until liquid is absorbed

Tortilla chips... enough to half fill the 9" x 13" casserole dish

                 ..................................................... Spread cooked meat on chip layer.
 Cheese-8 oz package- Shredded sharp cheddar, or whatever your preference.
                .......................................................Put on the meat layer
                                                                       Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes      

Remove from oven and serve onto plates.

Add:
Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Sour Cream
Optional: Garnish with Shredded Cheddar cheese and Ranch dressing
Serve and enjoy!  :)

This is fast and easy and can be adjusted to your family's likes and dislikes.

         Gentle Joy Homemaker                www.http://gentlejoyhomemaker.blogspot.com
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For dessert, we had another experiment recipe. The link to that new recipe is:

Cherry Cranberry Dessert

                
Thank you for visiting my blog today... I hope you enjoy the recipe... I know we will be making it again at my house. I hope you have a great week.



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Featured on:
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26 comments:

  1. Deliciousness!! :)

    I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

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  2. This looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe at C&C with J&J.

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  3. It was really tasty. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  4. Oh, my! This looks wonderful! We would love this at our house, too. I will have to try to remember to give it a try! Thanks for sharing. :)

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    Replies
    1. I especially like it because it is quick to throw it together and get it on the table after it bakes. I am trying to come up with some healthier "fast" foods. :)

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  5. This looks like baked nachos! I bet my kids would love it!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it would be like baked nachos... my family sure loved it. So glad you stopped by. :)

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  6. I saw taco and got so hungry, then I read the recipe. Still making this for my son and myself next week. I cannot wait. Thanks for sharing found your blog on Over The Moon Link Up.

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    Replies
    1. Fun.... tacos can do that... glad you and your son will be trying it and I hope you like it as much as my family did. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  7. I am drooling over here. I love taco salads and this looks amazing.
    Thanks for sharing your wonderful posts at Over The Moon Party.
    See you next week.
    Hugs,
    Bev

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    Replies
    1. Your comment is making me wonder if I should make this again for my family this weekend! They would love it... seems like a good idea. Thank you for visiting... and for the great link party. :)

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  8. I always like eating tacos but I hardly ever make them. I will have to pin this recipe and start making them at home. Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. That was my problem too... with so many people in the family... and big strong sons who eat a LOT.. I didn't like making tacos... just takes too long, uses a lot of ingredients, etc.... so this is a huge help to me... and how nice that they loved it too! :) Thank you for visiting and pinning.

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  9. What a great idea... kind of like nacho taco salad! Love it, and your pictures make me hungry for a taco, now :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you... so true, I hadn't realized how like nachos they are, but they are.... it's popular here, whatever we call it. I found that too, as I am answering comments and haven't eaten breakfast yet... I think I will need to make these soon.... maybe tonight! :) Thank you for visiting.

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  10. What is it about tacos that are just so yummy. This looks amazing. Thanks for sharing your wonderful posts at Over The Moon Party.
    See you next week.
    Hugs,
    Bev

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    Replies
    1. Tacos do have a good combination of flavors! We sure enjoy this variation of tacos. Thank you for visiting. :)

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  11. This recipe sounds delicious. My grandchildren love tacos, and so do I. I'll be saving this recipe. Please share it on my Sunday's Best linkup. Starts every Saturday night at 8:00 pm EST and ends the following Friday.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you... so glad you stopped by. I didn't make it to weekend linkups much this weekend, but will try to do it next week. :)

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  12. Congrats! Your post is Featured at the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty. See here: http://grammysgrid.com/wednesday-aim-link-party-22/

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  13. Joy,
    Just wanted to let you know that you are features this week at Thursday Favorite Things. Hope you stop by.
    Hugs,
    Bev

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  14. I'm going to have to try this I love this idea! I love nachos and this seems so similar but baked! Seems so easy and my kids and husband would love. :)
    Jen
    www.afiremanswife.com

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    Replies
    1. I hope your family loves it as much as mine does! :) I have been thinking we need to do this again.

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