Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

This was voted the #1 Casserole for the year at Taste Of Home.

I found this spicy Mexican Casserole recipe on Pinterest and thought I would try it out.  It did win #1 Casserole, so it's gotta be good right?  Right!  It was good.  Did it make it to the top 10 of my favorite casserole list?  No, but it is very good!  Plus it’s fast to throw together, and I doubled the recipe for two dinner nights.  A night off from cooking is always welcome for us busy working people, so I wanted to share with all my blog readers.  We also crunched Tostitos on the top, which made it even better.  Below is the recipe before I doubled it.

It's so easy...

CHEESY ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef ( lean)

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 1/2 cups salsa (I used Picante Sauce-mild)

• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans

• 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing

• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

• 6 corn tortillas

• 1 can of drained corn

• 3/4 cup sour cream 

• 2 cups (4 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend or your favorite cheese

• 1 cup shredded lettuce

• 1 medium tomato, chopped

• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro (I chose to exclude)

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
• Stir in the salsa, beans, corn, dressing, sour cream, taco seasoning and cumin.
• Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
• Place layer of corn tortillas on top of meat mixture. Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat as many layers as you like.
• The last & final layer should be a healthy dose of grated cheese.
• Cover with foil that has been sprayed with pam or other and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.  (I didn't have any pam, so I placed toothpicks in casserole to keep foil off cheese)
•  Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro. Yield: 8 servings.

Enjoy!