Mexican Quesadilla Casserole

Total time:
    Preparation:     15 min.
    Bake:         35 min.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro [From our kitchen: Ro*Tel makes this flavor in 10-ounce cans, but you can also use plain diced tomatoes and season as desired]
1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel sweet corn, drained, or 1 cup frozen sweet corn
1 (4.5-ounce) can of chopped chilies, drained
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas [From our kitchen: original recipe called for four flour tortillas, but we found that corn tortillas held up better. Plus corn tortillas are gluten-free.]
8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Cook beef and onion in hot skillet, stirring and breaking up any lumps, until beef is completely browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain any grease.
3. Stir in tomato sauce, beans, diced tomatoes, corn, green chilies, chili powder, cumin, garlic, oregano, and red pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
4. Spread 2 cups beff mixture in prepared baking dish. Top with 6 tortillas, overlapping if needed. Spread another 2 cups of beef mixture over tortillas, then sprinkle 1 cup of cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, beef mixture, and cheese, respectively. [From our kitchen: Casserole can be assembled up to 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Increase baking time by 5 to 10 minutes if chilled.]
5. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

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