Taco Bake

My husbands LOVES tacos. I rarely eat more than one taco in a sitting and I never eat leftovers. Then I found this recipe via Pinterest for a Taco Bake. If you like tacos and lots of cheese in salsa con queso form....then you want to make this. I have gone back for seconds, thirds, and fought for leftovers. I'm in love! 

We now make double batches and freeze one for those days where nothing goes right and we want an easy dinner.  

Here's what you need:

1lb of ground meat (we use turkey)

1 jar salsa con queso (we buy the big boy for double batch)

2 cups of cheese (cheddar, mexican...your choice)

tortilla shells

favorite taco seasonings

favorite taco veggies (we use a variety of peppers and half an onion)

springform pan for baking

First up dice the veggies and add to a pan with some oil for sautéing.

While those are cooking I prep my springform by adding a tortilla to the bottom of the pan. You can cut it down to fit if you like but I like the way the larger shells keep in all the good stuff. 

Once the veggies are done remove them from the pan and set aside. Add turkey to the pan. We like to season the ground turkey while we brown it for extra flavor. A nice sprinkle of cumin and garlic powder. (I prefer to used minced garlic but I didn't have any on hand today)

Next up on the turkey is some cayenne pepper, paprika, and some red pepper flakes.

Cook until the meat is completely browned.

Add your taco seasoning per the instructions.

Don't forget to add the veggies back in to soak up some more flavors. (This is the exact same way we make our tacos and our friends never believe us when we tell them we use ground turkey instead of beef. So here it is in print everyone!)

Once the taco sauce is done. Add half a jar of queso (if you're using the big jar like me or if it's smaller use the whole jar.)

Mix all the queso glory into the taco meat.

On top of your tortilla scoop out a heap of meat and cheese so it covers the bottom.

Sprinkle a handful of cheese on top of the meat. 

Repeat the process.

Till your run out of taco meat. Optional: add one last tortilla and dump the remaining cheese on top. We like a crunchy top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes till all the cheese is melted and the tortillas start to turn golden brown.

Carefully remove the sides of your springform pan and let it cool a bit.

But I'm a rather impatient person when it comes to waiting to eat cheesy taco yumminess. As you can see I didn't get a clear photo and the cheese is still molten and oozing out and I was in a hurry to eat!

I just couldn't help myself. I love it.