Use it or Lose it

No matter how carefully I plan my grocery list to avoid things going to waste, it seems an inevitability! You may have heard of the incredibly PC term ‘Hobo Stew’ where you combine the miscellaneous items in your kitchen that are about to go bad into some sort of edible concoction. As you will come to see, I always have enough salsa in my fridge to supply a small Mexican restaurant. So my ‘hobo stews’ often have a very southwestern flair. The following recipe was one such attempt that received a YES MA’AM from the hubs. He also had a few name suggestions: Tortilla Explosion and Mexican Medley. We will be taking other suggestions!
Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1 small onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 zucchini diced
1 green bell pepper diced
1 cup mushrooms chopped
1 can drained black beans
1 can rotel
1 cup of corn
2 flour tortillas torn
2-3 cups crumbled tortilla chips
2-3 cups shredded mexican cheese
2 Tb Chili powder
3 chili’s in adobo sauce
3 green onions chopped
sour cream
-Preheat oven to 275 and prepare a large casserole dish
-Brown beef,place adobo chili’s in with the beef and use spatula to break them up.  Then add onion, garlic and chili powder. Once most of the liquid has evaporated, pour into prepared dish.
-Cover meat mix with half of the crumbled chips and shredded cheese. On top of cheese place the tortillas(This is optional, I literally had two tortillas left and just threw them in but we found that they added more substance to the layering so give it a shot!).
-Saute zucchini, pepper and mushrooms until softened. Stir in beans, corn and rotel and bring to a boil. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half and pour into the dish.
-Cover with remaining chips and cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and chips are golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.
-Remove from oven and sprinkle with green onions. Serve with sour cream.