Mexican Casserole

The stomach flu has sidelined the B.A. Gourmet for a few days. As soon as the rumbling subsided, though, I knew it was time to ditch the toast, bananas, and crackers for a Mexican meal.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of Ground Turkey

6-8 Flour Tortillas

2 Packets of Taco Seasoning

1 Onion

1 Bell Pepper

1 Can of Black Beans

1 Can of Enchilada Sauce

Shredded Cheese (Mexican Blend)

Steps/Analysis:

First, dice your onion and pepper into uniform pieces. Saute in a little olive oil over Medium heat until the onions are slightly translucent. At that point, evacuate the contents of your pan to a large mixing bowl.

Next, dump the ground turkey directly into the same pan, raising the temperature slightly to Medium-High. Using a spatula or large spoon, break up the meat and stir to cook evenly.

Once the turkey has cooked through, carefully drain the oil from the pan and return to the heat. Add one cup of water and both packets of taco seasoning. Stir thoroughly and allow the sauce to cook down for another 4-5 minutes.

Add the meat to the bowl with the onions and peppers. Then, drain the liquid from the can of black beans and add them to the bowl as well. Stir to thoroughly incorporate everything.

Pour half of the meat/onion/pepper/bean mixture into a large baking pan. Sprinkle on some cheese and cover with a layer of tortillas.

At this point, I decided to sprinkle on some more cheese and double up with another layer or tortillas, effectively making a quesadilla in the middle of the casserole. If that seems like overkill to you, by all means skip this step. I think it worked pretty well, though.

Spoon on the rest of the meat mixture, add cheese, a final layer of tortillas, and some more cheese on top. Put the pan in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese on top is brown and bubbly.

While the casserole is cooking, open up your enchilada sauce and heat in a small sauce pan over low heat.

Serving/Notes:

To serve, cut the casserole into squares and spoon some enchilada sauce over top. The end result is a little like a quesadilla, a little like a taco, and a little like an enchilada. It's a big ol' mess of Mexican goodness.

Rice and guacamole are welcome sides, as is a little hot sauce or salsa.

Taco Burgers

Today's post is inspired by another incredibly picturesque recipe featured on Closet Cooking. For the original recipe, click here: http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2009/08/taco-burger.html

The taco burger is another instance of good plus good equals gooder. Who doesn't love tacos and burgers anyway? Frankly, I'm surprised that I've gone twenty+ years on this planet without previously seeing a taco burger (in real life or, at least, in my dreams).

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Packet of Taco Seasoning

1/2 Large Onion

Cheese

Buns

Salsa

1 Avocado

1 Bell Pepper

2 Tomatoes

Lettuce

Steps/Analysis:

Place your beef (85% meat to 15% fat, I find, works best) in a large bowl. Dice the onion as small as you can manage and add it to the meat. Essentially, the taco seasoning is going to take the place of any other seasoning that you might add to a normal burger, so dump that in as well and get your hands in there. Mix to thoroughly combine everything.

Next, grab about a quarter of the meat (about one large handful) and form into a patty. Repeat three more times and lay them out on a plate. Use your thumb to indent the center of each patty so they don't swell up like giant meatballs on the grill.

Speaking of the grill, fire that sucker up on medium to medium-high heat. If you don't have a grill available, I'm sure a large pan on the stove top will work just as well. Lay the patties down and use the next 3-5 minutes to wash your hands and address your fixings.

The standard lettuce and tomato felt appropriate to me. To go along with the taco theme, though, I also opted for salsa, bell pepper, and avocado. Slice all the veggies as thin as you can manage and arrange the toppings on plates. If you have a lemon handy, you may want to squeeze a little juice over the avocado to prevent browning. If you don't, wait until just before serving to slice.

Be careful not to neglect your burgers. Flip them and let cook for another 3-5 minutes. My rule of thumb is if I can press down on them and only clear juice runs out (no red) they're done. When you're at that point, or close to it, throw on your cheese and any buns or toppings you'd like toasted. I went with the omnipresent Mexican Blend shredded cheese, but you could use just about anything.

When the cheese is melted, you're done!

Serving/Notes:

Some nice, sturdy steak fries go well with these burgers. Mine turned out absolutely massive and incredibly filling. Be careful how you arrange your toppings, though. Putting the salsa directly against the bun will cause it to become soggy long before you're finished eating. Structural integrity is key when it comes to homemade burgers, so a barrier of lettuce would serve you well.

I found the taco flavor was subtler than I thought it would be. I might try a higher ratio of seasoning in the future.