MEXICAN CASSEROLE

Mmm, good. This was served at our Enrichment dinner last Tuesday. Our theme was, "What Can't You Do Without?" We had everyone bring what they couldn't do without--family and scriptures didn't count so it had to be something else. I took three things but which are all part of my one thing I can't do without. My little desk lamp which shines on my magnifying mirror which I use to pluck my chin hairs--which are actually stray eyebrows (according to Janette Barber: “I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows”). I pluck every single night, whether I need to or not. That is one of my pet peeves, women with moustaches or chin hairs. Pluck Lynne, pluck. So my one thing I can't do without were tweezers.

MEXICAN CASSEROLE--Carolyn Heaton

1 box Spanish Rice mix (Rice a Roni®)

1 (15 oz.) can chopped tomatoes—to use in Rice a Roni

½ pkg Doritos Tortilla chips
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can chopped tomatoes with green chilies
1 can Hatch’s green enchilada sauce
2 cups grated cheese, a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar

Make rice dish as directed, using the one can of chopped tomatoes. Put rice in 9x13 pan, top with 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies. Layer Doritos, crushed a bit. Top with beans, drained and rinsed. Top with enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake in 350 for 35 minutes.

Serve with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, dollop of sour cream and chopped avocado. Can add olives if desired.

OKAY, I DIDN'T EXACTLY MAKE IT LIKE THAT. THIS IS WHAT I DID.

Made the Rice a Roni as pkg. directions. I used a little more than half of a quart of diced, home-canned tomatoes in the Rice a Roni. Didn't put the extra can of canned tomatoes on top--saved it for later. Topped with a bunch of tortilla chips from Costco. Drained a can of pinto beans and black beans and mixed with one can--NOT drained--of S&W Caribbean beans--I buy them to make Cafe Rio salad so I have a bunch in my food storage--plus two Tbs. of Red Hot liquid seasoning. (I dislike kidney beans so I rarely buy them.) Topped them with the rest of the quart of tomatoes, drained. topped that with a can of green enchilada sauce--I would have made my own--I'm a home-made type girl but I'm all out of green chilies. Topped with Mozzarella cheese only as I was too lazy to hunt up any cheddar cheese in the freezer. Baked loosely covered--kind of tented so the aluminum foil didn't touch the cheese--for 45 minutes at 350°. Uncovered the casserole, turned the oven to 400° until it was a little brown on top and bubbling.

For the salad I mixed tomatoes, chopped multi-colored peppers, pepperoncini--also known as pickled banana peppers, and lettuce. I made guacamole, had sour cream and ranch dressing on the side.

Of course, I forgot to take photos until everyone was finished so no photo of the salad and guacamole and sour cream but everyone knows what salad and guacamole and sour cream looks like anyway.

It was very good. Lord Bumhampton had several servings and really liked it. We all really liked it. Go forth and bake some.