Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole

This was one of the recipes Andrea made for us today. It looks absolutely delicious. I have a feeling this will be a recipe that comes into our normal rotation. She found the recipe on Recipe Zaar online. I have found many recipes there myself. Definitely one to check out. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried chili pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon seasoning salt (or to taste or use white salt)
black pepper
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies, diced
12 (6 inch) corn tortillas (cut into about 1-1/2-inch pieces)
1 (10 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 1/2 cups canned sliced black olives
1 1/4 cups red enchilada sauce (I use my own recipe for this)
1/2 cup sour cream
3 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (or use a Mexi-blend cheese)
2 firm tomatoes, coarsely chopped

TOPPINGS
shredded lettuce
diced tomato
chopped sweet onion

Directions
1 Set oven to 400 degrees.

2 Grease an 11 x 7-inch casserole dish. (or two 8x8 pans)

3 In a large skillet cook the ground beef with the green chiles, onions, garlic, bell pepper, dried chili flakes (if using) and chili powder; cook over medium heat until beef is no longer pink; drain fat completely (you can prepare this mixture up to a day in advance and refrigerate).

4 Season with seasoned salt and black pepper to taste then transfer to a large bowl.

5 Stir in the tortilla pieces with cream of mushroom soup, black olives, enchilada sauce, sour cream and 1-1/2 cups shredded cheese; mix to combine.

6 Transfer to prepared baking dish.

7 Cover and bake for about 30 minutes or FREEZE until ready to use.

8 Uncover and sprinkle with about 2 cups (or more of shredded cheese then chopped tomatoes.

9 Return to oven and bake uncovered until casserole is bubbly and the cheese has melted (about 8-10 minutes).

10 Serve with toppings.