Taco Salad-ish

I am famous for buying pre-packaged seasonings. I can not make tacos without counting on Old El Paso to season the meat for me. @ $1.49/pack there has to be a better way. Here is my first attempt at reproducing that mexican flavor.

Taco Salad-ish

• 1 1/2 C. dry Kidney Beans *
•  1/2 to 1 lb. ground beef/turkey/sausage [optional]Taco Salad-ish

•  1/2 C. fine chopped onion
•  1 Tbs.onion powder
•  1 Tbs.chili powder
•  1/2 tsp salt
•  1/2 tsp cumin
•  1/4 tsp garlic powder 
•  1/4 tsp oregano
•  1/8 tsp pepper
•  2 8oz can tomato sauce
•  3 cups tortilla chips 
•  shredded cheese
•  plain yogurt or Sour Cream

* if you don't want to spend the time with dry beans, you could use a 30oz. can of kidneys.

Prepare your beans via overnight or quick soak. Cook until tender and drain off water. Beans can be cooked ahead and stored in the refrig until ready to use.

If you decide to use ground meat of some sort, brown it and break into small pieces. Drain off all excess fat/drippings.

In a deep stove top pan, mix the seasonings, tomato sauce, beans and meat together and simmer for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. The mix should be thick like chili. Spoon the mix into a 13 x 9 pan. Sprinkle some shredded cheese over the mix and then cover with the tortilla chips. I used the bottom crumbled mess from 2 bags the boys had demolished and left in the pantry. You could use corn chips as well which would be yummy. Poke the chips down into the mix, but don't cover them all. You don't want all the chips to get soggy, just some of them.

Bake @ 400 for about 20 minutes. Cheese should be melted and everything should be bubbly.

I lined bowls with shredded lettuce. Dropped in a helping of the casserole. Sprinkled a lil more cheese on top and topped it off with a dollop of plain yogurt.

This can be doctored up according to individual taste. jalapeño peppers, diced tomatoes. sour cream etc..

The boys loved it. I am calling this one a success. Nummy numm
This would be a great thing to do with left over chili too as a snack or a meal.

Cost:

Kidney Beans 1/2 bag @ 1.49/bag .75
Tomato Sauce 2 @ 2/.90 .90
Gr Beef 1/2 lb @ 2.99/lb 1.50
Onion 1 @ 3.99/10 .39
Spices had on hand
Tortilla Chips 1/2 @ 1.88 bag .99
Lettuce 1/2 @ 1.79 head .90

Total $ 5.43