Dinner with the Parrys

We tried a new recipe at our house tonight. The kids LOVED it. I don't think I've ever even seen Victoria clean her plate, and she ate two helpings. Tristan ate three helpings. I thought it was a little bland and needed some salt, but that's easily remedied. Best of all it's cheap and fairly healthy. All of the ingredients (excluding spices) came to $9.40. The recipe says that it makes 8 servings, but I thought it was more like 12. This brings the cost to 78 cents per serving. You can't beat that! This dish would also freeze well, or be great for a potluck.

Quesadilla Casserole

You will need:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (8 3/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can chopped green chiles, undrained
6 flour tortillas (8-inch)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional- I left it out)

1. Brown beef and onion in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain.Add tomato sauce, beans, corn and green chiles; mix well. Stir in all of the spices except red pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes. Add red pepper to taste, if desired.

2. Spread 1/2 cup pf the beef mixture on bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking dish sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.

3. Bake in preheated 350 oven 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.