Beef Nacho Casserole

Beef Nacho Casserole was a favorite meal of my daughters as they were growing up. Even now in their twenties, they request it as their birthday meal. It was one of the first meals they learned to cook. It’s a good meal to have children help prepare. Small children can crush the tortilla chips in a bag, and older children can help layer the chips and cheese in the pan.

To make Beef Nacho Casserole, you’ll need:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1-1/2 cups chunky salsa (mild, medium or hot)
• 1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
• 3/4 cup Miracle Whip
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 cups crushed tortilla chips
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• your favorite toppings: sour cream, salsa, avocado, lettuce, tomato, onions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the ground beef in a pan.

Kitchen Tip: I always keep pre-cooked ground beef in my freezer. About 2 1/2 cups of cooked ground beef is equal to one pound of ground beef. This saves me a lot of time.

Add the salsa, corn, Miracle Whip, and chili powder. Since we have small children at our house, we use a mild salsa. If you like spicy foods, you can definitely use hot salsa. We just make it with mild salsa and then those who like spicier foods can add hot salsa to their own serving.

Heat the mixture through.

Layer half each of the meat mixture, chips and cheese in a 2-quart casserole dish. Then layer the other half of the meat mixture and chips. Bake for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with remaining cheese and return to the oven until the cheese is melted.

Serve topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, avocado, sour cream or salsa.

Enjoy!

For another great recipe that uses Miracle Whip, check out Grampy’s Favorite Chocolate Cake!