Southwest Fiesta Casserole

I haven't gained much experience with spices and seasonings yet. I am working on changing that. I enjoy cooking and baking, but I still have a lot to learn. I'm finding that cooking ethnic dishes is a great way to learn how to season and spice up a meal.  

Mexican is one of our favorite ethnic foods. On date nights, you can generally find Husband and I hanging out at one of the local Mexican restaurants. Man, can they cook! It's messy, it's cheesy, it's nothing but absolutely delicious.

A few weeks ago I started planning a Mexican casserole type dish. I knew I wanted crescent rolls to top it off. Of course there would be spices, beans, cheese, meat and veggies, but I wasn't sure how I would make it stick together. I was fairly positive I wanted the sauce to have a sour cream base. It was Allrecipes to the rescue. There I found exactly what I was looking for. I love that website.

 

Voila! Now we have a new favorite dish in our house and I'm here to share it with all of you. You lucky dogs!

Meat/Bean Mixture

1 lbs ground meat

1 can petite diced tomato

1 can whole kernel corn

1 can kidney beans

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped green pepper

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Sour Cream Sauce (Adapted from Allrecipes)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 cup water

½ tbsp chicken bouillon or one cube

¼ - ½ cup green salsa or green chilies

½ cup sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Approx 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

For the meat/bean mixture:

In a bowl, combine diced tomatoes, corn, kidney beans. Set aside.

Brown the meat, drain. Add to bean mixture. Set aside.

Chop onions and peppers. Soften them in a skillet for 7ish minutes. Add to meat mixture.

Add seasonings to meat mixture and mix.

For the sauce:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour. Heat for 1 minute. Whisk in the water and bouillon until the water has thickened and the bouillon has dissolved, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the green salsa and the sour cream. Shake in some salt and pepper. 

Preheat oven to 375°

I prepared this dish in layers. I'm sure it would be just fine if you mixed it all together though. 

Here’s how I did it (bottom to top)*:

Meat

Cheese

Sour Cream Sauce

Meat

Sour Cream Sauce

Meat 

Cheese

Rolls

Bake for 10/15 minutes then add crescent rolls (unrolled) to the casserole. 

Bake for another 25 minutes or until crescent rolls are completely done. 

*Next time I will use a shallower baking dish to make the ratio of bean/meat mixture and crescent rolls more equal.

Enjoy!