Taco Bake. Arriba! Arriba!

Pretty huh?

Look. Layers.

Before being baked

After being baked. Kinda crispy on top. mmmm!

I am not that classy to have a blog dedicated solely to recipes, but I did have a thought as I was making a yummy Taco Bake that I should take pictures like the nerdy blogger that I am. More becuase it was a lot of work and it looks kinda pretty. This Taco Bake is sort of like one I found on this website, but I "made it my own" like Randy from American Idol would put it. (BTW I can't wait for AI!!! Has Archuleta even made a record yet? Oh yeah. He didn't win. Some other dude did. What's his name?) Sorry, that is why I can't have a recipe blog. I am too random to stay on task on one subject.

Anywho, I was trying to find a recipe that I particularly liked of Marianne's when we were invited over to her home for dinner one night. Go Marianne! Yes, it was that memorable. First off, I didn't think Haley would touch it, but she asked for seconds! And both Brandon and I enjoyed it. I got seconds too. So since Marianne is stingy with her recipes, I had to try and find it myself. :)

I changed the recipe from the website up a bit because it needed more flavor, but it was stellar.

2 lbs hamburger
1 onion (or 3 Tbsp. dried onions)
1 can diced green chiles
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream
1/2 c. water
1 pkg. of 10 corn tortillas
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
8 oz. mild cheddar cheese (or Mexican blend) any mild mix really

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. ( I waited until after #3 because it took that long to simmer and put together.)
   
2. Brown hamburger with chopped finely onion. (I only like the taste of onion. Not the texture. Onions are meant to be tasted, not seen) Drain and put back in pan.
   
3. Add green chiles, stewed tomatoes, water, taco seasoning, and sour cream to hamburger. (I used my hand blender to blend the chiles and tomatoes. Again. The tomatoes and chiles are meant to be tasted, not seen. Also I thought the kids wouldn't like to see green things in their food.) Simmer on medium heat 5-10 minutes.
4. Layer corn tortillas, meat mixture, and cheese in that order three times in a 9 1/2 x 11 caserole dish. On the top layer, after the meat mixture, sprinkle the crushed tortilla chips all over then put the cheese on top.
   
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. We like the cheese to be a little brown, so we kept it in there a few more minutes. Enjoy!

I know what you a thinking. Why is Monique posting a picture of sour cream? (Tejfol. Not even close to what we call it huh?) Well. They don't have lids here on their sour cream containers. Weird huh? It's a foil top and then I just saran wrap it shut for next time. Lids. You'd think they'd find them useful by now. :) Oh that and Ziplock bags. They just don't have baggies like that. Anywhere. There was a rumor that IKEA sold them, but I didn't see any. They sell bags with twisty ties here. huh? What are those? That is soooo 80s! Not to worry. I think we have at least a year's supply of them in our garage. But geesh! Reclosable anything here is a foreign concept. Lunchmeat for another example. Oh and they still sell milk in bags. BAGS!! I buy my milk in normal screw-off top 1L (same as 1 Quart roughly) milk containers, but no gallon jugs. I pay a little more for it, but I just can't do it. Pouring milk from a bag? Gotta love the Hungarian way, I just don't have to do it their way all the time.