Turkey Taco Casserole

We love Mexican food around our house, but recently needed a change up from our normal enchiladas or taquito routine.  This Turkey Taco Casserole is layered like a lasagna and totally hit the spot in our family!  It came together pretty quickly and filled an 8x8-inch baking dish to the brim with warm cheesy Mexican goodness.  The spiciness level was perfect for our family and we enjoyed it topped with plain greek yogurt, avocados, lettuce, and tomato!  Enjoy! 

Click here for printable recipe. 

Posted by Lara. 

The Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 Tbs. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1-1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cans (4-oz. each) diced green chilies, divided
1 can (15-ounces) diced tomatoes, drained (oops, I forgot to drain mine)
1 can (16-oz) refried beans
1-1/2 cups  Mexican blend cheese {or cheddar cheese}
2 flour tortillas, cut into 1" strips
1/2 cup salsa, plus more for serving
Desired toppings:  Sour cream (or plain greek yogurt), sliced avocado, additional salsa, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce

Directions:

Cook the ground turkey in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  When the turkey is almost cooked through, add the chili powder, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper.  Stir well.   Then add one of the cans of diced green chilies and the can of diced tomatoes.  Stir and continue cooking until everything is well combined and the turkey is cooked through.  Remove from heat.



In a greased 8x8-inch square baking pan, spread about 1/3 of the turkey mixture along the bottom.

Then spread about 1/3 of the refried beans over the top of the turkey.  (I heated my refried beans briefly to make it easier to spread)

Then layer 1/3 of the remaining green chilies, 1/2 cup cheese, and four of the tortilla strips.

Repeat layers twice more, spreading salsa over the last layer just before adding the cheese.

Cook at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.  Allow casserole to cool and set for about 20 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with desired toppings.  We liked it with sour cream, sliced avocado, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, and more salsa.

Serves 6.

Enjoy! 


Recipe Source:  Eat, Live, Run

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Pizza Casserole

We may still be in the dog days of summer, but my brain is already starting to look forward to fall cooking.  Usually I try to avoid turning on the oven too much in the summertime, but this casserole recipe caught my eye for the summer garden vegetables that it calls for--zucchini and peppers!  Between the cheese and the very cool looking breadstick design on top, my kids were in love with this meal and gobbled up every bite of their veggies!  I used a homemade breadstick recipe (that I've included below), but you could also just use a tube of refrigerated breadsticks to make it super easy to prepare.  

Recipe Source:  Recipe . com

Look at all that cheesy yumminess! 

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Lara. 

The ingredients:


1 pkg. (12-ounces) chicken sausage, cut into rounds
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 red, yellow, or green peppers, seeded and diced
2 medium size zucchini, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cans (14-1/2-ounces each) diced tomatoes, DRAINED
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I used a little less than this amount)

1 tube (11-ounces) refrigerated breadsticks (see below for the recipe for the homemade breadsticks I used)

Directions:
In a large frying pan, cook sliced chicken sausage on medium-high heat until golden brown and cooked through (if not already fully cooked).  Remove sausage from pan and set aside. 

Add olive oil to same pan over medium-high heat and saute onion and sweet peppers for about 5-minutes.  Add zucchini and garlic; cook about 5 minutes or until barely tender.

Add DRAINED tomatoes, sausage, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper.  Cook for 5-7 minutes or until liquid is mostly cooked out.  Add 2 Tbs. Parmesan cheese. 

Spoon half of the tomato mixture into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. 

Top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. 

Add remaining tomato mixture.  Arrange breadsticks on top in lattice pattern, trimming to fit.

Sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbs. Parmesan  cheese and the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until breadsticks are browned and filling is bubbly. 

Enjoy! 

BREADSTICKS (if not using pre-made breadsticks)
3/4 cup hot water
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbs. yeast
1-1/2 - 2 cups flour (I used half white, half whole wheat)

Directions: 
Mix hot water, sugar, oil, salt and 1 cup of flour together.  Add yeast and remaining flour until dough barely pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Knead (in the mixer) for 5 minutes.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Roll out to rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.  With pizza cutter, cut dough into 8-10 breadsticks. 

Allow to sit while preparing the rest of the casserole.  When ready to use, carefully place breadsticks in lattice pattern over the top of the casserole, trimming if necessary.  Proceed with baking directions as listed above. 

Enjoy!

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