I have a lot of things to share with you here in the Arts & Crafts section of the blog over the next couple of days, but today, I wanted to share a recipe with you and give away a late Christmas/early New Year’s gift to three of you. See the end of the post for details.
One of the gifts I received this Christmas was a subscription to food & family magazine from my sister. I’ll just tell you this right now, in the interest of full disclosure: she (my sister Emily) works on the magazine as a designer. I knew Emily was an awesome designer, what I didn’t know was how great the food & family publication is! She gave me the latest issue in addition to the subscription and I’ve “devoured” it. Mer mer mer. I hadn’t previously seen any issues of the mag before.
I found it packed full of tasty-looking recipes that I could totally see myself making. Real, everyday-type recipes in addition to some special occasion ones, kitchen tips and great ideas for meals-on-a-budget, too.
I was so impressed with the magazine that I’m giving a one-year subscription to three of you.
But, wait! That’s not all! I’m going to first share a “real” everyday, easy recipe with you – this one isn’t from the magazine, but it’s one I often make; the whole family loves it.
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Tostado Casserole
1 lb. ground beef
taco seasoning packet
15 oz. can tomato sauce
bag of Fritos or other corn chips
16 oz. can refried beans
*optional* Southwest corn mix (canned)
cheddar cheese
Here’s what you do:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain off the fat. To the ground beef add 2/3 cup of the tomato sauce (save the rest!) and the taco seasoning and stir.
Crunch up the whole bag of Fritos. Measure two cups of the crushed chips. Reserve the 2 cups and spread the remaining chips evenly in the bottom of a 9” x 9” baking dish.
Layer the beef mixture on top of the chips in the 9 x 9 pan.
In the skillet where the beef browning had taken place, empty the can of refried beans and add to it the rest of the can of tomato sauce, stir until smooth. If you’re feeling saucy, here’s where you can opt for the southwest-style canned corn (contains black beans, onion, peppers), just mix it in with the refried beans and tomato sauce. Layer this mixture over the ground beef.
Add a layer of cheese – how much is up to you, then spread the reserved 2 cups of Fritos on top.
Bake for 30 minutes or until heated throughout. Serve.
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Back to the give-away:
All you need to do to be eligible to win is comment to this post, telling me who cooks for you. It’s you, isn’t it? Does it happen to be your spouse? Your mom? Your kids? Dude at Burger King? Do you share the task with anyone or is it totally, cruelly and unfairly one-sided? Even if you happen to already have the subscription or (gasp!) don’t want it, please still enter, we can send it to a friend of yours who would enjoy it.
Comments must be made by 12:00 noon CST tomorrow, December 29th. I’ll pick three of your comments randomly and email you for details.
*I have not received any compensation for pos mens made here and the give-away sponsored my me.*
Tostado casserole sounds YUMMY. :)
For the most part, I cook for me. Or McDonalds, or Sub City does. Sad but true. My loving husband sometimes does as well. There’s been a good ~2 years where we haven’t been home together at mealtime much; so we have eaten a lot of frozen stuff, but now that I’m nearly done with school I think I’ll be making a lot more at home since we can actually eat together. :)
I cook most of the time. We pick up 13th St. or Taco Johns when I don’t feel like cooking. And when we go to my mom’s to eat–we bring plastic containers with us to take home leftovers!
Hope you guys had a good Christmas!
I’m the head chef but I occasionally get help from my husband who does a pretty good job. And he always does a better job of cleaning up than me.
sounds good! i will have to try it!! before i worked full time (with hr and half commute per day), i made a lot of meals (which i really miss doing!) and jason would often have me over…he makes what i call his famous spaghetti that i love. lately though, we go out a lot and conveniently bring the leftovers to work for lunch… i was actually thrilled last week because during my vacation i made two homemade meals in one day!!
Yeah Food & Family!! Thanks Jess for promoting this fine quality publication! I hope whoever wins finds it as enjoyable as you, and in turn buys one for their friends and family :)
Oh, don’t include me in the drawing for obvious reasons
Fun! If we eat at home I do the cooking most of the time although Joel does some too….and more so lately which is nice. If we don’t eat at home, it’s usually Joel’s mom’s house or pick up something quick. I know why Ali brings plastic containers to her mom’s house…it’s SOOOOO good! I was just craving her spaghetti the other day!
Thanks for the recipe and an opportunity to win Food & Family! I have never heard of the magazine, but it sounds great. I am always looking for cheap and easy meal ideas because believe it or not I am the one who cooks for us. Except for an occasional (weekly) trip to Taco Johns and my husband can put a frozen pizza in the oven if he has to. I really enjoy cooking as long as my kids are not underfoot and I have help with cleaning up.
I do the meal planning, write the grocery lists, purchase the groceries, put them away, cook the meals, clean up, pick the dishes up off the floor after Benny licks them clean, put them in the dishwasher, put detergent in it, start it, empty it. Get the picture? I think the Pampered Chef dish you gave me for Christmas will be excellent for Tostado Casserole. Will I feel “pampered” while using it? Thanks Em for the subscription!
I do the cooking at our house. If I do not feel like cooking, we order soemthing for delivery. John made dinner once a couple of weeks ago for the first time. He did a good job and it was nice to have a break.
Dinner is always a challenge at our house. I am a vegetarian. John doesn’t eat pork and doesn’t like any seasoning, onions or garlic.
As you can see, it can be very hard trying to come up with dinner ideas. I love to cook but hate to come up with the menu and I hate to do the dishes. John’s typical response to what he wants for dinner is “food.” It is a challenge but it is my way of taking care of John when he does so much to take care of me.
This sounds pretty easy and tasty!
I do 99% of the cooking in our house… breakfast, supper and a lunch for Jeff to bring to work. I LOVE cooking. I HATE the mess I make each and every time… messiest cook ever.
I hope you guys had a great Christmas!
You know me. I LOVE to cook so do most of the cooking. There are days though that GI Joe takes over the reigns because I have to work late or something. As long as there’s a recipe he does great. But the kitchen is my domain for the most part. As the great Paula Deen once said, “Cooking is my way of showing love to my family and friends, because I put a little bit of myself in everything I make.” Amen Paula, amen.
The tostada casserole sounds delish, we just need to think of a slightly catchier name. :)
I do the cooking and usually at noon cook for three men: my husband, son, and our hired man who are hungry because they do a lot of physical work on our farm. The worst is having a meal ready before I leave for school on the two days that I teach part time. I love cooking but always enjoy it if Ivan offers to take me out in the evening which happens maybe once or twice a month. I like to try new recipes if they are easy.
I am soooo excited about this giveaway! I was a proud subscriber to this magazine but they are now charging for it so I was very sad to see that I wouldn’t be getting it in the mail every season! I didn’t know your sister worked on this magazine but my family and I love it.
I am the meal planner, grocery shopper, cook and also the person who cleans up all the meals. I do have to admit that my husband does his fair share of cleaning up the kitchen but that’s usually because its bathtime or some other task he doesn’t want to do but thats ok becfause I would rather give baths to cute little boys than clean up dinner especially after three cute little boys! Thank goodness for 1 man and 3 boys in the house we don’t have much leftovers.
I am constantly looking for new recipes for daily meals and holidays. I am excited about this giveaway! If I don’t win I just might have to break down and subscribe!
Hope you had a great Christmas!
This recipe sounds great! I just found something similar when I was home for Christmas – new recipes are always welcome – thanks Jessie!
I have already sent in my subscription-darn it, but I will gladly pass the free one on if I win!! Love the magazine too! I have been receiving it free for about 2 years or more?? until they decided it was just TOO GOOD to just be ‘giving’ it away!!
And of course I am the meal maker-like it or not :(