Taco bake

One of Elliot's favorite meals - he ate a ton of this without us having to remind him to take each and every bite, which was a nice change from the norm these days.  I never use as many tortillas as the recipe calls for, just put one layer of tortillas to cover the bottom then another layer in the middle.  Tonight I just made one casserole but in the past I've made the two small ones and froze the second.

The pictures haven't been too appetizing lately.  Seems like all the "real" food bloggers were gifted with cooking and photography talent.  That's okay, I'm not exactly destined for fame with a title like Davis Favorite Recipes :)

Layered Mexican Casserole

1 pound ground beef
1 jar (8 ounce) chunky salsa
1 package (1.5 ounces) taco seasoning
1 container (12 ounces) cottage cheese
1 package (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
2 eggs, beaten
10 flour tortillas (about 7" diameter), divided
1 can (about 4.5 ounces) chopped green chiles, drained
1 can (4.25 ounces) chopped ripe olives, drained

Brown ground beef in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat; drain.  Sitr in salsa and taco seasoning.

In a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, 1-cup Cheddar cheese, and eggs.  Grease two 8" square pans.  Place 4 tortillas over bottom and up the sides of each pan.  Spoon one-fourth of the meat mixture and one-fourth of the cottage cheese mixture over tortillas in each pan.  Place 1 tortilla in center of each pan.  Spoon remaining one-fourth of meat mixture and remaining one-fourth of cottage cheese mixture over tortilla in each pan.  Sprinkle with green chiles, olives, and remaining 1-cup Cheddar cheese.  Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to bake.

Bake covered casserole in 350-degree oven 45 to 50 minutes or until heated through.  Uncover and bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is bubbly.  Serve warm.

Yeild: two 8" casseroles, about 6 servings each