Mexican Meat Casserole

An instant hit with the younger crowd.  This is easy to prepare and makes a wonderful one dish dinner in under an hour.  Put in a little additional time and get the grown up version by substituting grilled steak and chops for the ground meats.  It's worth the effort as it transforms this dish into something worthy of serving to guests.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease square baking dish, 9 x 13 x 2".

Brown the beef and pork in a skillet.  Drain.  If creating the grown up version grill the steak and chops for a couple of minutes on each side.  The meat should still be pink inside as it will finish cooking in the oven.   I start out with thin steak and chops and salt and pepper them before grilling.   When the weather is bad use an indoor grill like the George Foreman model.   Slice the grilled meat into thin strips about 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide and 1 to 2 inches long - called a coarse chili grind - and proceed.

If using ground meats (easier and less time consuming) Make sure the ground burger and pork is seared nicely, browned in batches to keep the pan from cooling down.  Combine the meats in a large bowl and salt to taste.

Add the scallions, chiles and seasoning mix and heat all through. Spoon mixture into greased baking dish.

Beat Bisquick, milk, and eggs with wire whisk or hand beater until almost smooth, about 1 min. Carefully pour into baking dish with the meat mixture.

Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 min. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, about 2 min. Cool 5 min. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, olives and, if desired, sour cream. 6 to 8 servings.a