Description
A delicious and hearty casserole made with layers of tortillas, seasoned beef, and creamy cottage cheese.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 T olive oil
- 2 lbs. lean ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped small
- 1 T Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning (or use your favorite purchased taco seasoning)
- 1 cup Pace Picante Sauce
- 2 cans (10 oz. can) Ro-Tel Tomatoes and Green Chiles
- 6 low-carb tortillas, cut in half
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles, drained
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups grated Mexican Cheese Blend
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan, add the ground beef, breaking it apart with your fingers, and cook over medium-high heat until the beef is browned and cooked through. Break beef apart with a turner or old fashioned potato masher as it cooks so it’s in small pieces.
- When the beef is done, push it over to the side, add a little more oil if needed, and cook the diced onion for a few minutes; then mix the onion with the beef.
- Add Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning, salsa, and Ro-Tel tomatoes and simmer over low heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and when you draw a turner across the bottom of the pan you don’t see any liquid.
- While beef mixture cooks, mix together the cottage cheese, drained green chiles, eggs, and 1 cup of the cheese.
- Cut the tortillas in half with kitchen shears and spray the slow cooker insert with non-stick spray.
- In the crockery casserole dish insert, make a layer of tortillas, using the cut side of the tortillas to go along the straight sides. Use the least amount of tortillas you can to cover the bottom.
- Make a layer of half the spicy meat mixture, half the cottage cheese mixture, and one cup of the grated cheese. Then make a second layer each of the tortillas, meat mixture, cottage cheese mixture, and grated cheese.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for about 2 1/2 hours or until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese is nicely melted.
- If you’re using the Casserole Crock, you can brown the finished dish in a 400F/200C oven for about 15 minutes if desired, but that step is completely optional.
- If you want to try this in the oven, a reader reported she baked it for 45 minutes and it turned out perfectly and was a hit with her husband.
- I’d use 375F/190C if you’re baking it in a casserole dish and spray the casserole dish with non-stick spray.
- Follow all the instructions above for cooking the beef, simmering with tomatoes, mixing cottage cheese mixture, and layering it into a casserole dish.
Notes
- For the taco seasoning, you can either purchase store-bought or use homemade.
- Pace Picante Sauce adds great flavor; feel free to use a different salsa if preferred.
- Cottage cheese provides creaminess but can be substituted with ricotta if desired.
- Be cautious with the number of tortillas used; minimal coverage of the bottom is key.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 150 minutes
- Category: Casserole
- Method: Stovetop and Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 150mg