Triple-Layer Taco Pie

Tomorrow is May 5 — Cinco de Mayo — but that’s not the main reason for this post.

The main reason is because I found yet another simple, delicious, and inexpensive Mexican meal that I’m pretty sure your entire family will love.

And as with nearly all of my recipes, you can feel free to substitute and swap out ingredients to fit your family’s preferences…or just whatever you have in the house. I’ve listed a bunch of substitution options in the ingredients list below, but feel free to get even more creative!

INGREDIENTS:

{print recipe}

• four 8″ or 9″ tortillas
• 1/2lb –  1 lb. ground beef, ground turkey, shredded chicken, etc.
• one 15 oz. can black beans — drained and rinsed
• one 15 oz. can diced tomatoes — sometimes I use a quart of my home-canned tomatoes too
• any amount of corn, onions, green peppers, chili peppers, or anything else you want to add {these are all optional}
• one 10 oz container Cooking Creme — Santa Fe Blend**
• 1 c. of your favorite shredded cheese {I used Mexican blend}

** If you don’t have the Cooking Creme, you can also add one 8 oz block of regular cream cheese, 2 T. of sour cream, and 1 package of taco seasoning — you’ll never know the difference!!

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Brown meat in a large, deep frying pan until no longer pink. Drain.
• Add beans, tomatoes, corn, peppers, onions, etc. to the meat mixture and cook until veggies are heated through
• Stir in Cooking Creme until melted and very creamy {See picture above}

ASSEMBLY:

• Place one tortilla on the bottom of an 8″ or 9″ round cake pan.
• Top with 1/3 of the taco mixture
• Repeat layers 2 more times
• Top with remaining {fourth} tortilla
• Sprinkle cheese over the top
• Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted

NOTE: if you have extra taco mixture, use it as dip for your tortilla chips!

Also, you can make this dish a day in advance and put it in the fridge {or freeze it for months} however, if you’re baking it straight from the refrigerator, you’ll want to cover it with foil and bake for about 40 minutes or until heated through.

Before going into the oven…

And after coming out…yum!!

You can see all three layers of delicious, creamy goodness — and once dinner is over, you should only have one frying pan and one cake pan to wash!

Linked to Things I Love Thursdays