El Dorado Beef & Cheese Casserole

I tried a new Mexican recipe the end of last month.  It's from my Heritage School cookbook I've had for about 30 years.   I didn't try it before because I didn't know how the cottage cheese would work in a casserole with taco chips and chiles. 

This was very delicious!  I served it with tacos, homemade refried beans, rice, corn and pico de gallo.  And even my most reluctant grandchild tried it out and liked it! 

El Dorado Beef Casserole  - For 8 to 10

1.  Prepare vegetables: 

(1)  Dice 1 onion and 1-2 cloves of garlic.

(2)  Slice 1 can of black olives.

2.  Prepare meat sauce:

(1)  In a skillet brown 1 pound of organic ground beef or ground turkey.

(2)  When it’s half done, add the onion and garlic and cook until meat is cooked.

(3)  Add two 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce, 1 t of salt,  3 t of chili pepper, 1 t of cumin, ½ t of oregano, and 1 t of black pepper, and the sliced olives.

(4)  Set aside until ready to assemble casserole.

3.  In a medium sized bowl combine:  1 pint of small curd cottage cheese and 1pint of sour cream and 2 cans of diced green chiles.

4.  Slightly crush a 12 oz. bag of doritto tortilla chips. (I used some regular ones.)

5.  Grate 1 pound of cheddar cheese.

6.  Assemble casserole:

(1)  Place ½ of the crushed chips on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.

(2)  Pour half of the meat mixture over the chips.

(3)   Spoon half of the cottage cheese/sour cream/green chile mixture over the meat sauce.
(4)  Scatter some  cheese over the top of that.

(5)  Repeat these layers.

7.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Other Mexican recipes on this blog:

Mexican Casseroles
Texas Style Gluten Free Stacked Enchiladas  (From my Come & Dine cookbook)
Acapulco Delight - A great Mexican Enchilada (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Michelle's Favorite Vegetarian Enchiladas   (From my daughter)
Kathy's Baked Chili & Chips Casserole  (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)
Gluten Free Mexican Quinoa Casserole  (From an Internet search)
Fiesta Gluten Free Tamale Pie   (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)
Authentic Chicken Enchiladas Verde  (From a church friend)
Rebecca's Favorite Chicken & Chile Enchiladas  (From a church friend)
Delores's Chicken & Tortilla Casserole (Made Gluten Free)  (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)
Great Beef Enchiladas - From my church cookbook, Come & Dine

Tacos, Chimichangas  & Etc.
Rachel Ray's Recipe for the Best Fish Tacos   (From Food Network)
Fantastic Baked Chimichangas  (From my Syre School Cookbook)
Authentic Chicken Flautas  (My hispanic friend Abbie taught me how to make these!)

Delicious Chicken Fajitas  (A mix of many recipes)
Fabulous Vegetarian Gluten Free Fajitas   (From an Internet search)
Easy Gluten Free Baked Taquitos  (From a newspaper clip)

Beans & Rice
The Best Homemade Refried Beans  (From an Internet search)
Texas Pinto Beans & Rice  (From my Texas airport cookbook)
Baked Chili & Chips (My daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)

Mexican Chicken & Beef
Anna's Pollo Guisado (Mexican Braised Chicken)  (From a church friend in Phoenix)
Fantastic Gluten Free Carne Asada!  (From an Internet search--a combination of sites)
Belizean Chicken, Black Beans & Rice, and Belizean Coleslaw  (From my daughter's family)

Soups
Mexican Chicken Soup- A Great Remedy for Colds & Flu  (I got this over 25 years ago from a Mexican cookbook)
Bethany's Crowd Pleasing Tortilla Soup  (From a friend in Califiornia)
Southwest Turkey Soup   (From my Syre School Cookbook)

Salads

Baja Salad with Black Beans & Quinoa  (My own version of something I ate in Seattle)