Mexican Food = The Spice of Life

We love Mexican food...which was brought to my attention once by my before mentioned friend, Stacy, when after several weeks of partaking in weekly leftovers with me, she exclaimed...you guys sure eat a lot of Mexican food don't you ? Well, I guess we do. Tonight's dish dates back to my high school years and actually comes from a Home Economics class I took. It's simple, quick, and tasty...and yes, it happens to be Mexican ! The original recipe calls for adding corn into the casserole, but for some reason, this combination freaks my family out so I just serve it on the side. Don't ask..... Also, I'm going to share something I tried this weekend which, you guessed it, has a Mexican flair. It's originally supposed to be used as a wrap filling, but I loved it so much, I decided it would make a great salad topper, which is what we used it for tonight.

Mexican Casserole (aka smashed tacos as we like to describe it to our son)

1 lb ground beef
1/2 pkg taco seasoning
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup salsa
shredded cheese
a few tortilla chips, crunched up

Cover bottom of glass pie pan with crushed tortilla chips (you can use as many as you like, since we're trying to be "good" I use a lot less these days). Set aside and brown meat, drain fat, and add taco seasoning then soup and salsa and simmer for a couple of minutes until well combined. Carefully spoon this mixture on top of your chips then top with shredded cheese. Pop into an oven at 425 degrees and heat until cheese is melted...5 minutes.
(I should mention that this could easily be doubled and made into a 13 x 9 casserole if you're feeding more hungry mouths)


Easy Southwestern Veggie Wraps

2 large tomatoes chopped
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 cup frozen corn (thawed)
1 cup cooked brown rice (cooled)
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 TB lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingrediants. In a small bowl combine the sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, and spices. Gently stir into veggie mixture and serve on a romaine lettuce leaf wrapped up, or whole wheat tortilla, or as we discovered, just on top of chopped lettuce.