Turkey and Bean Enchilada Casserole

Ground turkey is the best substitute for lean ground beef. We have been using it for everything! You can get the health equivalent by simply purchasing extremely lean ground beef, but I think the turkey is a little bit cheaper, and tastes just the same!  For a delicious dinner a we made Enchilada Casserole. It's protein packed and super easy to make.

You will need:
1 lb ground beef
1 can pinto beans, drained
Shredded Mexican Cheese
about 6 corn tortillas
2 tablespoons of flour
Garlic powder
1 small tub of Sour cream
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can green chilies
Taco seasoning

Preheat oven to 350. Brown the turkey and drain. Mix in your desired amount of taco seasoning, beans, and green chili peppers. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream, flour and garlic powder. Place a few corn tortillas in one layer on the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Top with the meat and bean mixture, and then spread sour cream. Repeat layers again starting with the corn tortillas. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and top with cheese, bake for an additional 10 minutes of until cheese is melted.

**Serve with Saffron rice. Tastes just as soon left over!!

Mexican Casserole

My roommate and I have a slight Costco addiction. The issue here is that the produce must be consumed ASAP before everything spoils.  Trudy purchased about a dozen avocados the other day and we needed to eat them, so I decided to try out this mexican casserole. With a few minor substations I was able to make this a slight bit healthier than the average mexican casserole. 

You will need:

1 lb ground turkey

1 jar of salsa

1 can of refried black beans

1 packet of reduced sodium taco seasoning

1 avocado, sliced

1/2 green pepper, chopped

multigrain tortilla chips, smashed up

1 can of diced tomatoes

spinach leaves, chopped

1 small can of sliced black olives

mexican cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large frying pan, cook the ground turkey and drain whatever little fat remains. Mix in refried beans, taco seasoning, and salsa.  In an ungreased casserole dish, layer tortilla chips and top with meat mixture. Layer on top of this the green pepper, black olives and half of the tomatoes. Then top with cheese.  Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Take out of the oven and top with spinach leaves, more tomatoes, and avocado. Enjoy!!

**We used the left overs the next day to make nachos! Joe said they were the best he's ever had. The secret definitely is mixing the beans, salsa, and taco seasoning. mmmm mmm!!