Ole! Mexican Casserole

In this episode, Darling Dilemma finds herself sharing another recipe & going into shock about it!

Mexican casserole is my son's other favorite meal, and who could blame him? It is pretty much just very fancy nachos!  He just rolled his eyes at me & asked if I was 'seriously blogging about Mexican casserole,' but some friends have requested the recipe (maybe just to tease me & get to me write another recipe blog??)!

Mexican Casserole (vegetarian)
Ingredients:

• Charras corn tortillas (these are basically large, flat, baked nacho chips)
• refried beans
• chili *optional + if you aren't vegetarian, you could always add meat in here
• taco sauce or salsa (not necessary but I like it)
• cheddar cheese
• broccoli
• red peppers  *feel free to add whatever other veggies you want... onions, mushrooms.. whatever you have or are in the mood for

Casserole dish * I find a deep one works great, unfortunately mine broke so I am using my lasagna one.  Works well too, I just like a deeper serving with more layers... just a preference.

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. I start by putting a thin coating of sauce or salsa. This casserole (as most), tends to stick to the bottom of the pan & I find a little sauce down there helps it lift out a bit easier

3. spread a layer of refriend beans onto the large chips & lay over the bottom of the dish.  You can be messy, sloppy, hurried.. its all going to be okay. You will often find that a few/many/lots of the large chips are broken, this doesn't really matter as I usually smoosh the whole casserole down to make it fit in the dish... hehe
4. toss some of those veggies on top of the layer... then cover lightly in grated cheese.
5. repeat layers.  I either alternate layers of refriend beans, with layers of the chili, or I add a little chili to each layer *if you want salsa... throw some on whenever you want. As much, or as little as you like.  I'm easy with the rules.
6. top layer - I usually skip beans or chili off the top layer & just load it up with the veggies & cheese, like nachos!

7. bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. **In the vegetarian version, basically you just want the cheese to melt & the beans to heat... if you are adding meat to this, you may have to adjust how long it cooks
8. For the last 5 minutes I like to turn the oven to broil so the top layer of cheese gets really browned, bubbly & crispy
9. Its ready!! I like to serve with a salad & a side of my homemade salsa (shoot.. did I just set myself for another recipe blog???)