Vegetarian Corn Chip Casserole

OceanLuvinGranny's Note:

This recipe came from a cooking show on 3ABN called, "Let's Cook Together." The beauty of it is that it can be converted to non-vegetarian by using hamburger meat. But, the vegetarian version is quite good as well. My family loves both and when we have company who are vegetarians, we do the non-meat version. The prep time for the vegeburger one is less because you don't have to cook the vegeburger first. The hamburger one requires cooking and draining the meat before you proceed.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6-8

Yield: 1.0 casserole

• 1 large onion , chopped
• olive oil to saute the onion and garlic
• 16 -20 ounces veggie burgers
• 1 teaspoon salt (but if you use the vegeburger, leave the salt out because the vegeburger is a little salty anyway)
• 2 garlic cloves , pressed (you can buy it already pressed for you if you prefer)
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce (I like to use the canned crushed tomatoes)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 (25 ounce) can kidney beans , drained (I use the pink ones)
• 1 (11 ounce) bag of fritos scoops corn chips (you can also use the chili cheese flavor or the plain flavor flat ones)
• ½ lb sharp cheddar cheese , grated (or you can use the vegan cheese)

Garnishes

• 1 head iceberg lettuce , chopped fine 1 bunch of green onions finely chopped, 1 (16oz)

Directions:

1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the lemon juice, cumin, vegeburger (If using hamburger, cook it, drain it and then add the cooked onions, garlic and lemon juice and the rest of the spices etc.).Add tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes and mix well. Let it simmer on low for 15 minutes. Add beans and mix well. Spray a 9x13 casserole. Place one layer of chips then a layer of cheese and a layer of the vegeburger or meat mixture and another layer of cheese. Repeat layers ending with a layer of chips then a layer of cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven. Place a helping of the casserole on a bed of finely chopped lettuce then top with the garnishes. and enjoy.

Reviews

[BurgundyS]

This was REALLY tasty! I used mexican flavored veggie crumbles (like a veggie version of ground beef) and for the garnish just used sour cream, green onion and olvies. Salsa might also be good! This was a lot like a taco salad at the end.

[VeneziaAmore]

Really, really delicious! Thank you -- the family loved this. Mild salsa was great with this yummy recipe, and I cut up an avocado to top it all off. I'll be making this again and again!