Recipe: Taco Bake

Great for left-over pasta. Prep and cooking time for this are pretty fast.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. extra-lean ground beef
• Taco seasoning (enough for 2 lbs of beef)
• Tortilla chips (enough to cover the bottom of a 9×14 baking dish)
• About 4 c. shredded cheeses of your choice (cheddar and colby-jack are good choices, or use a “mexican blend”)
• Cooked pasta (enough to cover a 9×14 baking dish; bite-sized noodles are good, long noodles are probably not so good)
• Salsa of your choice
• Green onions for garnish
• Sour cream (optional)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Brown ground beef.
3. Prepare taco seasoning in beef according to pakage(s).
4. Spray the inside of a 9×14 baking dish with non-stick spray.
5. Layer tortilla chips on the bottom of the dish. Break them so that they lay somewhat flat.
6. Cover the chips with a layer of shredded cheese.
7. Layer the seasoned ground beef over the cheese.
8. Layer the cooked pasta over the ground beef.
9. Cover the pasta with salsa.
10. Finally, cover the whole dish with another layer of shredded cheese.
11. Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is just starting to brown on top.
12. Remove from oven and allow to set for about 10-15 minutes.
13. Serve with green onions and sour cream, if desired.

I am quite bad at estimating how many people something might feed. I’d say that this would probably feed 4-6 adults, if a side dish is provided. Good side dishes might be a salad or fruit dish.