El Dorado Casserole

I think this would make a good potluck recipe. I could even make the tortilla chip and the hamburger layer ahead of time and freeze it. I used my three quart rectangular casserole dish and it was none too large. I did not make more than one layer of anything, just a layer of crushed tortilla chips, the hamburger layer and the white stuff layer. I put all of the jack cheese on top.

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup catsup
• 1 (3 ounce) can ripe olives , sliced
• 1 pint sour cream
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 (4 ounce) can green chilies , chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) package tortilla chips, crushed
• 1 (16 ounce) package Monterey jack cheese, grated

Directions:

1

Brown ground beef in large skillet, stirring until crumbly.

2

Add onion, salt, pepper, garlic salt and powder, tomato sauce, catsup and olives, mixing well.

3

Simmer until onions are tender, stirring frequently.

4

Combine sour cream, cottage cheese and chili pepper in small bowl.

5

Layer tortilla chips, ground beef mixture, sour cream mixture and Monterey Jack cheese alternately in large greased casserole, ending with grated Monterey Jack cheese.

6

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

7

Serve with picante sauce.

In Review: We really liked this casserole. The original recipe says it serves 6 but, in reality, it serves 12. At least. We forgot to put salsa on it and didn't miss it, but it would be a good addition. Next time I might try:

1. Substituting Rotel tomatoes for half of the tomato sauce
2. Putting taco seasoning in the meat mixture
3. Using sliced ripe olives (I used chopped as suggested in another version of the recipe)