Who doesn’t love a delicious and easy casserole during a hectic week? This recipe can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. When you’re ready to eat, simply place it in the oven for thirty minutes for a stress free meal!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of lean ground beef

• 1 cup of chopped onion

• ˝ cup chopped green pepper

• 1 taco kit that contains flour tortillas, seasoning, and sauce (or purchase these ingredients separately, whichever way is least expensive)

• 1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes with chilies

• 1 14 ounce can of black beans

• 4 cups of your favorite shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet.

3. Drain the excess juices from the pan.

4. Add the onions, green peppers, taco sauce and seasoning to the ground beef mixture.

5. Simmer for ten minutes.

6. Drain and rinse the black beans, and then stir them into the ground beef mixture.

7. Spray a casserole dish with a non stick cooking spray.

8. Slice tortillas into strips, and layer them on the bottom of the dish.

9. Sprinkle one layer of the shredded cheese on top of the tortilla strips.

10. Pour one layer of the ground beef mixture on top of the cheese.

11. Repeat the layers, ending with the tortillas on top, sprinkled with remaining cheese.

12. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

13. If desired, serve with a tablespoon of sour cream on the top.

Tips for this recipe:

• You can substitute ground turkey or cooked, cubed chicken in place of the ground beef.

• Your favorite salsa can be subsisted for taco seasoning. Simply add the desired amount of salsa to the cooked ground beef, and continue with the rest of the directions.

• Leftover tortillas are can be used for sandwich wraps, or homemade pita chips. Simply cut the tortillas into triangle sizes (pretend you’re slicing a pizza). Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for seven to ten minutes, or until chips are just starting to brown. Serve with your favorite salsa.

• If you have kids that love to cook, encourage them to create their own version of this recipe. It can be prepared in so many different ways, and it’s a fun recipe to get kids excited about cooking.