Adios, February

This month has been so long!  Yes, it's the shortest month but it doesn't seem like it.  Not only is the wedding drawing near but D has been on a call month.  The good thing is that he doesn't take overnight call.  The bad thing...you never know how late he'll have to work.  I'd rather know that I'll be staying with K rather than wondering if I'll be with her or back at my place.  Sigh...so frustrating.  Anyway, right before this month started, K was staying with D's parents and I had D pick what he wanted for dinner.

  I kind of figured he'd pick the Mexican casserole.  He loves ground beef...I do NOT like the flavor of it!  So, I used ground pork.  It is much better to me and I don't think anyone else really knows it's not beef.  The recipe calls for quite a bit of cheese and chips.  I didn't use nearly as much as called for and I don't think there was anything lacking.  D really liked it and I actually enjoyed it, too.  A good, easy dish that I think would please the whole family.

Mexican Casserole adapted from Plain Chicken
1 pound lean ground pork
 1 can Ranch Style beans
 tortilla chips, crushed
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided (not really sure how much I used - original recipe said 2 cups, I know I didn't use this much)
1 package taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large skillet, brown meat and drain off fat (I did this the night before). Stir in beans, tomatoes, onion, taco seasoning, soup and water. Simmer over medium-low heat until everything is well combined and heated through.

Grease a 9×13 casserole dish. Put down a layer of crushed tortilla chips, followed by a layer of the meat/bean mixture, then half of the cheddar cheese. Repeat layers. Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until bubbly.

Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!