Recipe and picture from Simply Recipes. This was a meal I made for a big crowd and it served a lot of people. I adapted/simplified some of this recipe, but you can find the original on link. It's so good-worth a try! And your house will smell amazing. We served this with rice and salad!
Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients
Olive oil
1 1/4 lbs ground beef or ground turkey
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup
1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, chopped, about 1 cup
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 14-oz cans refried beans
Extras
Sour cream
Avocado
Cilantro
Iceberg lettuce
Method
1 Brown the ground beef: Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan or cast iron frying pan on medium high heat. Add the ground meat, breaking it up as you add it.Sprinkle with salt. Sprinkle on the chile powder, cayenne, cumin, and coriander. Increase the heat to high. Add another 2 Tbsp of olive oil.
Do not stir the meat unnecessarily. Allow the meat to brown on one side, and then stir it so the other side can be browned.
As soon as the meat is browned, remove the pan from the burner. The meat will continue to cook in the heat of the pan.
Once you are sure that the meat is cooked through, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan to a bowl. Set aside.
2 Sauté onions, bell peppers, garlic, add tomatoes, chiles, oregano: Once the meat is done cooking, and has been removed from the pan in step 1, add another Tbsp of olive oil to the pan and heat to medium. Add the onions and chopped bell peppers, cook until onions have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for an additional 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, green chiles and oregano. Bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Add in meat and refried beans and stir gently until combined.
3 Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly oil a 13x9x3-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
4 In a casserole dish, layer the tortillas with beans, meat, cheese, and sauce mixture: In baking dish arrange 2 tortillas in one layer, overlapping slightly (tortillas will not cover bottom completely).
Spread half of bean/meat mixture evenly over tortillas in dish. Sprinkle one third cheese on top.
Repeat layering of tortillas, beans, meat, cheese, and sauce and top with remaining tortillas. Sprinkle remaining cheese over tortillas.
6 Bake: Bake casserole on the middle rack in the oven for 35 minutes, until the casserole is heated through and the cheese is completely melted and bubbling.
Let the casserole stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Serve with sour cream, chopped avocado, chopped cilantro, and thinly sliced iceberg lettuce on which has been sprinkled vinegar and salt.
