Mexican Rice Casserole

The Perfect Thrown Together Meal Using Ground Turkey

Mexican Rice Casserole is my latest thrown together meal, crafted from ground turkey and other ingredients I had lying around in my cupboards and fridge.

OK... I confess... this meal came about when I was scraping the cupboards because my next grocery shopping trip was overdue. Even though I love to cook, I hate to shop, so this actually happens to me quite a bit. But this time, I came up with the Mexican Rice concept using the only kind of meat I had left in the house (ground turkey), some old prepared rice side dish packets (Southwestern Style and Mexican) I'd bought for lunch and never used and a few of my usual staples that I almost always have on hand, no matter how overdue grocery shopping is.

My hubby, mom and I were pretty pleased with the results!

Mexican Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

2 packets of prepared rice side dishes
1 pound ground turkey
1 cup corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup sour cream

Seasonings as desired
1/2 cup crushed nacho chips
1 cup shredded taco cheese
1 small can sliced olives

Directions:

Cook the rice according to the directions on the packet. Brown the turkey in a little olive oil, adding taco seasoning or a mixture of chili powder, cumin and coriander, along with salt and pepper, as desired. When the meat is cooked, add the corn and tomatoes and cook till heated through (about 5 to 10 minutes). When the rice is done, mix it, the meat mixture, the sour cream and the olives in a 2-quart casserole. Top with the shredded cheese, and then nacho chips. Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees, till the cheese is melted and the casserole is hot and bubbling.

Serve the casserole with a green salad and/or cornbread or corn muffins. Yumm!

Variations