Lana's Mexican Casserole - A Tex-Mex Recipe

When I was a little girl growing up in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, 

my mom would whip up this ridiculously yummy Tex Mex meal and we 

were all just so happy to see it come out of the oven! 

Lana and Darin Del Monte lived across the street, 

and this was Lana's recipe! It has such a creamy sauce 

that strangely and perfectly compliments the beef and beans.

I promise you it will be a hit and the cook will be 

sneaking the leftovers on the next day for breakfast! 

Ingredients

2 lbs of ground beef

12 corn tortillas

1 can of evaporated milk

1 can of green chilis

1 can of refried beans

1 can of cream of chicken

1/2 stick of butter or margarine

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 onion chopped

1/2 cup of olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions

In a skillet, brown the meat with the chopped onions and add salt and pepper.

Drain off the grease and set aside.

To prepare the sauce combine soup, milk, green chilis, and one cup of cheese in a medium bowl, stir together and set aside.

In a small pot heat refried beans and 1/2 stick of butter to soften. 

Take off heat and set aside.

In a skillet or medium pot add a few tablespoons of olive oil and heat on medium.

Soften tortillas one at a time in the oil, turning once, and then place on a paper towel to remove excess oil. You want the tortillas to be pliable and not crisp.

Spray a casserole dish with oil to lightly coat.

Create each enchilada by adding meat and then topping it with a few tablespoons 

of the sauce. Continue this until the casserole dish is completely full of enchiladas. If you have extra meat leftover just fill in the spaces between the enchiladas. (see photo below)

Spread the softens beans over all of the enchiladas.

Dump the remaining yummy sauce over the beans and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top!

Bake covered with foil for about 30 minutes at 350℉. Remove the foil and then cook an adittional 10-15 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and cheese is gooey! 

I like to serve this with some really great tortilla chips and my homemade salsa and guacamole! If I am trying to be healthy I will add a green salad. 

There ya go! Enjoy!

Making the enchiladas one by one!

Extra meat? No problemo! 

Load it up baby!

Beans on top!

Sauce on top of beans and then comes the cheese!

Ready for the oven!

Need a Tex Mex Dip?

Go HERE!

NEED SALSA?

Click HERE!

 

Mama's Guacamole

This Texas Mama loves her some good tortilla chips.
What she loves more is a good batch of fresh 
guacamole!
guac!
avocado mash!
avocado mush!
= YUM!
However you mash this combo up it will 
always come up tasting delicious!
This is an easy, fresh and delicious recipe.

2 avocados
juice of 1 lime
sea salt to taste
2 Tbls finely chopped onion
1/2 Cup chopped cilantro

In your favorite bowl, mash up 2 ripe avocados.
Mix in all the other ingredients.
Add one avocado pit to the dip, cover and chill 
for about 30 minutes before serving.

I love my Guac all by itself or with some 
really good tortilla chips.
Serve it up with your tacos, fajitas, sandwich, burrito,
salad, and or grilled protein. You can not go wrong
serving it up with any of the above.
Share your favorite guacamole sidekick with me!
Adios Mamas! 

Don't mind me. I'm just in my kitchen
doing my guacamole dance!
Next up......
the SALSA!



Go HERE!



or HERE!

Tex Mex 7 Layer Dip

If you have ever lived or visited Texas 

then you have tasted this all time favorite dip.

It is kind of a staple at Texas parties.

It is pretty basic but you can add your 

own personality to it. 

If you are a little spicy, you can fire up the heat.

If you are perky you can throw in a new layer 

to wake up your guests. I usually adapt it to what

 I have in the frig at the time needed. 

I usually make it in the morning on the day I need it.

If you use fresh avocados then you will want to make it 

the day needed because the fresh avocado 

will turn brown if it is made too far in advance.

If you use store bought avocado dip 

you can make it the day before.

Tex Mex 7 Layer Dip

Ingredients

1 can of refried beans (I use nonfat and organic)

1 16 oz Sour Cream

2 Cups of Shredded Colby and Monterey Jack Cheese

4 diced green onions

1 medium tomato diced

1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

1/2 stick of butter

1/4 tsp season salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbl of cumin

1 Tbl of chili powder

1 Tbl of Tabasco Sauce

1/2 tsp onion powder

3 or 4 medium avocados mashed with a Tbl of fresh lime and a dash of sea salt

OR  1 16 oz container of store bought guacamole dip

Soften refried beans with butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. 

Add 1/4 tsp season salt and 1/4 tsp garlic salt into beans. Once softened pour in the dish you will serve the dip in. Allow it to cool about 15 minutes until adding the next layer. In a medium bowl mix sour cram with cumin, chili powder, onion powder and Tabasco. This is where you can add more sauce or seasoning if you like. Just taste it with your cute little pinky finger and tweak it as you wish. When you are done tweaking the sour cream just dump and spread it evenly over the beans. Next up is the guacaMOLE! 

I like saying that....guacaMOLE!  Can you hear me? So here is the deal. 

You can cheat and use a store bought guac fake dip or make your own with a few avocados. It is up to you and how much time you want to invest in this dip. I have done both. So make the decision, own it and then spread it over the sour cream concoction. Next up the cheese. Spread the cheese on top of guac and then sprinkle the onions, toms and cilantro. Cover it up with plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours or more. Serve it up with some good tortilla chips and of course some Big Scoop Fritos! 

Fritos are a must! If you really want to be daring add some freshly diced jalapeños on the top. If you do that then run and hide from your guest who can't take the heat. They will not be happy and surely will be looking for you! 

AND......You are going to want to make some QUESO!

So go HERE for the BEST (Mama doesn't lie) Queso recipe you will ever find!

AND.......You are going to want to make this amazing main course to dump all the dips on top of!    King Ranch Casserole is to die for!

 

Mama is FRESH! Fresh Salsa in The House!

Nana Nucci would call you

FRESH

if you sassed back,

told a joke,

flirted with a boy,

teased her,

pranced around in a new outfit 

or 

if you

did just about anything

other than be a bore!

"Are you getting FRESH with me?",

she would say and then gently cover her mouth and start

laughing out loud!

Mama Holli whips up some 

FRESH Salsa

about once a week for her familia.

It is very similar to the

CHEATER HOLLI HOTSAUCE

recipe but slightly different in taste and preparation.

Pull out the trusty food processor or a blender.

I like to use the FP for this recipe as it works best 

with fresh toms. Over blending the tomatoes can make 

your salsa foamy, which you don't want!

Mama Holli's FRESH Salsa

4 vine ripe tomatoes ( quartered)

1 to 2 serrano peppers

1/3 cup purple onion

1 garlic clove

1 cup or more of cilantro

1/2 tsp of sea salt

1 tsp of red wine vinegar

Blend pepper, garlic, onion and cilantro first until finely chopped.

Add tomatoes one at a time, pulsing a few times in between each one. Add the salt and vinegar. This part is up to you....you can pulse/blend it a little more to make it less chunky or leave it as it is. This Mama does NOT like chunky salsa so I blend pulse it a few more seconds. Not too long though or you will loose the fresh taste of the toms. 

FYI.......

This batch I photographed has extra cilantro. I was craving it that day! The fresh toms will blend more pink than red unlike canned toms, hence the greenish color of this batch.

Serve it up with some chips and you are good to go!

Enjoy!

Chili Con Queso

Mama Colleen makes a mean Texas Queso!

She is the ultimate southern cook and everything 

she serves up is amazing! 

She is one of my favorite buddies and I 

miss those lazy summer days hanging 

out at her pool with the kids!

Chili Con Queso Dip

by Colleen Rice

one 2lb box of velveeta

2 (5oz) cans of evaporated milk

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained

2 (4oz) cans of green chilies chopped

2 (4oz) jars of pimientos 

1 ts. oregano

3-4 pickled jalapeno peppers chopped

1 Tbsp. Knorr Suize Calso de Pollo Spice

2 (15oz) cans Ranch Style beans undrained

In a large crock pot add chopped Velveeta. Pour in evaporated milk and mix.  Heat crock pot on low. While the cheese and milk heat, prepare ground beef in a large skillet by browning and draining. Then add the remaining ingredients to the meat in the skillet. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add to the cheese mixture in the crock pot. Mix well and heat on low.  Serve with your favorite chips.  Colleen serves this at their annual Halloween Party.  It is so very good and fat free of course!

Make sure to check out these 

CRAZY, AMAZING RECIPES!

Black Bean Dip

Salsa