Walking Taco Casserole

This is not your typical “low and slow” crockpot recipe.  This is a 45 minute to an hour recipe.  So, yesterday I hadn’t really thought about what I was going to make for dinner all day.  It was an hour before the fiancé was getting home from work and I had to think fast.  I used my small Nesco roaster for this recipe.  It has temperature settings from 150 to 400 degrees.  And in case you are wondering why it’s called “Walking” Taco Casserole… Well, Walking Taco Salads are usually made on camping trips.  You build a taco salad inside a small bag of fritos (or doritos) and eat it out of the bag around the campfire!  You can “walk” around while eating the taco salad.  But this is made casserole style!  Sorry I don’t have a picture.  I am bad at remembering to take a picture before we dig in to the meal.

Walking Taco Casserole (Serves 4)

1 pouch of Knorr Spanish Rice (or Mexican rice or dirty rice)

2 cups of water

1 cup of tomato product (or enchilada sauce, salsa, taco sauce, or tomato sauce)

1 lb ground beef (or chicken or turkey)

1 package of taco seasoning (or burrito seasoning or fajita seasoning)

½ bag of chili fritos (or doritos)

1 cup of shredded cheddar

Taco Fixings optional: guacamole, taco sauce, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, black olives, onions, etc…

The Directions

Set small Nesco roaster to 300 degrees.  Add rice, water, and tomato product.  Stir and then cover.  Meanwhile, brown the ground beef.  Drain the fat after browned.  Add 4 tablespoons of water to beef and taco seasoning.  Mix well.  Then add to Nesco roaster, stir, reduce heat to 250 degrees.  Let simmer in roaster for 30 minutes or until rice is tender.  Check at 15 minutes and 30 minutes and add more water or tomato product as needed to keep rice mixture saucy and not pastey.  Add fritos and lightly push into rice mixture.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Let cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve with your favorite taco fixings.

The Verdict
Another successful Nesco dish.  I slathered on a lot of sour cream and taco sauce.  The only thing that could have made this better was guacamole!!!  Next time I make this I might add softened cream cheese to the mixture to make it creamy.  This easily could have been baked or made as a skillet dish in a frying pan, but I love using my Nesco and crockpot!