Beef Nacho Casserole

Sometimes casseroles get a bad rap and I'll be the first to admit to being critical, often with good reason. Several of them are kind of bland and boring in my estimation although I'm not adverse to using convenience foods on occasion. I was prepared to complain about this casserole had I not been intrigued by one of the ingredients.

I mean really - who doesn't wonder about a Family Circle recipe that calls for tubes of uncooked pizza dough? Personally I make my own dough and was totally prepared to hate the addition of pre-made stuff in this recipe or any other pizza dough for that matter, but boy was I wrong. 

Granted I made several changes (hit the link above to see the original), but isn't that what cooking's all about. Recipes, even from venerable sources like Family Circle are only guidelines afterall. I reduced the amount of sweet bell peppers, added chopped onion along with a can of rinsed and drained red beans. I even ramped up the spices somewhat with garlic powder rather than garlic salt, and a bunch of taco seasoning and red pepper flakes too, but you all know we love some spicy heat. I cut down on the cheese too and I'm here to say I don't think it made much of a difference. I didn't bother with the black olives or scallions either because I'm not much of a fan of regular old canned black olives and didn't have any green onions in the refrigerator. Corn niblets would be a great addition too although I didn't think to add 'em until I was writing this post this morning.  

It's a good solid casserole full of meaty goodness and definitely nacho like. The pizza dough takes on a dual personality if you know what I mean. It can't decide whether its a crunchy biscuit or soft doughy noodles (biscoodle???) and the added spices really enhanced the overall flavor.

Garnished with a touch of sour cream and some pickled jalapenos, it was all we could do not to go back for thirds. So much for moderation huh. 

Beef Nacho Casserole (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Family Circle aka familycircle.com)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 ounces chopped assorted sweet mini bell peppers

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt & coarse ground black pepper

1 – Large tube refrigerated pizza dough (I used no-name brand)

1 – 16 ounce jar prepared medium or hot salsa (I used Pace brand)

1 – 15 ounce can red beans, drained, rinsed and drained again

1 cup frozen corn, defrosted (optional)

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided

   Sour cream, pickled jalapenos as garnish

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a large casserole (13 x 9 inch or similar) with cooking spray and set aside.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat bottom. Add chopped bell peppers and onion and cook until vegetables start to soften – about 2 to 3 minutes. Add ground beef and cook, crumbling, until beef is no longer pink and onions are transparent. Sprinkle in garlic powder, taco seasoning and red pepper flakes. Season lightly with salt but add a fair amount of black pepper. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Meanwhile remove pizza dough from tube and cut into half inch discs. Cut each disc into quarters and place in a large bowl. Add salsa, red beans, corn if using and half the cheese. Stir in ground beef mixture. Turn into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes until casserole is lightly browned and bubbling. Serve garnished with sour cream and jalapenos. Makes 8 servings. 

A year ago - Salmon Pot Pie

Two year's ago - Stacked PIzza and Fried Ravioli

Comments

[Lea]

That is interesting! I think you were wise to add some spice to the mix! I, too, dislike bland food! Same thing with green salsa for me, please!

[June]

Too funny Lea. I was just thinking how good this would be with salsa verde and maybe ground pork or chicken instead of beef. Yum!

[Lorraine]

Wow, Pizza dough casserole, that's different. Looks good though and thanks for giving it a go...don't know if I would have tried it on the face of it if I had seen the recipe, but thinking about it, how can you go wrong with something meaty, saucy and cheesy?

[June]

Lorraine - I'm thinking about doing the pizza dough thing next time I make a chicken pot pie though it might be a hard sell because pastry's almost the best part. LOL