We love Mexican food in our house. It doesn't matter what the dish, we are all in. So, when I realized we didn't have anything for lunch one day I started digging around. I had a lot of extra frozen spinach. I started searching for options and ran across a sort of Mexican spinach casserole. I didn't have most of the ingredients, but it gave me an idea. I pulled out spinach, hash browns, and some beef and decided to just throw it all together. The result is the following recipe.
I've learned over the years that it's best to pull out all your ingredients first. But, don't just pull them out, measure them. Then put all the extra stuff back. Trust me, it'll be less work you have to do later on. Even better, line up your now measured ingredients in the order you will use them. This will ensure you won't forget anything. If you are like me, you will inevitably be halfway through and realize you forgot an important ingredient early on in the steps unless you prepare well. While it may not matter to some recipes, it could really throw other ones off. Have you ever been about to put bread in the oven and realized you used baking soda instead of salt? I have... trust me, it doesn't end well. As the Girl Scout motto says, "be prepared."
Once I had all my ingredients measured and lined up, I put a bit of oil in 2 large skillets. I also start my oven preheating at 400. Though you could do it in one, I figured it would be faster if I did two since I knew the hash browns would take quite a while to prepare. After I got the potatoes started cooking on medium low, with a bit of salt and pepper, I began thawing out my spinach.
With the spinach safely tucked away in the thawing brilliance that is the microwave, toss your chopped onion into your other prepared skillet (medium low as well). As the onions start getting softer, toss in garlic and cilantro and stir it all up. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions began to get that see through look. Don't forget to keep stirring those potatoes too!
With your onions fully cooked, scrape them into a bowl and set them aside. Yay! You have an empty skillet! But not for long... toss in your ground beef. Leave it in the pan on medium low stirring occasionally.
As you cook your meat, check on that spinach in the microwave. If it is well thawed, pull it out and bring it to the sink. Grab a strainer and press out the water in the spinach in small batches. Once all your spinach is pressed, add it to the hash browns. (Don't forget that beef! Don't let it burn.) Now that the spinach and potatoes are together and cooking, grease your 9x9 pan.
Remember your onion mix? Go ahead and add it to the now cooked beef. Add in the taco seasoning as well. Stir it all up until the seasoning is fully blended.
You should now have to pans with fully cooked food. Pour them both into your prepared 9x9 dish. Stir them all together and sprinkle with your shredded cheese. Place your dish in the oven. It should be ooey gooey and slightly brown after about 20 minutes.
As it cooks, let me take a moment to calm any nerves you have about your picky eaters and this dish. My daughter wouldn't dare eat spinach unless it was mixed in to a salad or as spinach dip...stealthily of course. For some reason, she is also really against hash browns. The only ones that are acceptable to her are McDonald's hash browns. I know, it doesn't make sense to me either. But in this recipe, she noticed neither. Early on in eating she asked what was in the dish. I managed to change the subject. At the end of our meal though, I did tell her. It didn't bother her after the fact. She loved it regardless. She even asked for seconds!!
Pull your delicious smelling goodness out of the oven and let it cool a minute. As it cools, grab your sour cream and chips. Spoon your dip into a bowl and top with sour cream. I like to stir mine in. It's thick so you can't really dip it like a typical dip. I spoon a bit onto my chip and chow down. Only have crumbs left? No problem. Toss them in your bowl and stir. It makes a tasty crunchy meal! This was a huge hit in our house. Happy eating :)
I've learned over the years that it's best to pull out all your ingredients first. But, don't just pull them out, measure them. Then put all the extra stuff back. Trust me, it'll be less work you have to do later on. Even better, line up your now measured ingredients in the order you will use them. This will ensure you won't forget anything. If you are like me, you will inevitably be halfway through and realize you forgot an important ingredient early on in the steps unless you prepare well. While it may not matter to some recipes, it could really throw other ones off. Have you ever been about to put bread in the oven and realized you used baking soda instead of salt? I have... trust me, it doesn't end well. As the Girl Scout motto says, "be prepared."
Once I had all my ingredients measured and lined up, I put a bit of oil in 2 large skillets. I also start my oven preheating at 400. Though you could do it in one, I figured it would be faster if I did two since I knew the hash browns would take quite a while to prepare. After I got the potatoes started cooking on medium low, with a bit of salt and pepper, I began thawing out my spinach.
With the spinach safely tucked away in the thawing brilliance that is the microwave, toss your chopped onion into your other prepared skillet (medium low as well). As the onions start getting softer, toss in garlic and cilantro and stir it all up. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions began to get that see through look. Don't forget to keep stirring those potatoes too!
With your onions fully cooked, scrape them into a bowl and set them aside. Yay! You have an empty skillet! But not for long... toss in your ground beef. Leave it in the pan on medium low stirring occasionally.
As you cook your meat, check on that spinach in the microwave. If it is well thawed, pull it out and bring it to the sink. Grab a strainer and press out the water in the spinach in small batches. Once all your spinach is pressed, add it to the hash browns. (Don't forget that beef! Don't let it burn.) Now that the spinach and potatoes are together and cooking, grease your 9x9 pan.
Remember your onion mix? Go ahead and add it to the now cooked beef. Add in the taco seasoning as well. Stir it all up until the seasoning is fully blended.
You should now have to pans with fully cooked food. Pour them both into your prepared 9x9 dish. Stir them all together and sprinkle with your shredded cheese. Place your dish in the oven. It should be ooey gooey and slightly brown after about 20 minutes.
As it cooks, let me take a moment to calm any nerves you have about your picky eaters and this dish. My daughter wouldn't dare eat spinach unless it was mixed in to a salad or as spinach dip...stealthily of course. For some reason, she is also really against hash browns. The only ones that are acceptable to her are McDonald's hash browns. I know, it doesn't make sense to me either. But in this recipe, she noticed neither. Early on in eating she asked what was in the dish. I managed to change the subject. At the end of our meal though, I did tell her. It didn't bother her after the fact. She loved it regardless. She even asked for seconds!!
Pull your delicious smelling goodness out of the oven and let it cool a minute. As it cools, grab your sour cream and chips. Spoon your dip into a bowl and top with sour cream. I like to stir mine in. It's thick so you can't really dip it like a typical dip. I spoon a bit onto my chip and chow down. Only have crumbs left? No problem. Toss them in your bowl and stir. It makes a tasty crunchy meal! This was a huge hit in our house. Happy eating :)
- INGREDIENTS4 tbs Olive oil10 oz frozen hash browns (can be a bit more or less)Salt and pepper to taste1 yellow onion, chopped2 tbs minced garlic1/2 cup fresh minced cilantro1 box (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed1/2 cup taco seasoning1 lb ground beef1 cp cheddar cheese, shreddedtortilla chipsSour cream (optional)
- INSTRUCTIONS
- Prep 2 large skillets with olive oil and begin to heat. Preheat oven to 400.
- Put the frozen hash browns, salt and pepper in one pan and start cooking them on medium low, stirring occasionally.
- Put chopped onions in the other skillet and saute. Add the garlic and cilantro about halfway through.
- Once sauteed, remove from skillet and set aside.
- Take the thawed spinach and squeeze out the extra water. Add spinach to hash browns and stir.
- Brown the beef in the now empty skillet.
- While browning: prep a 9x9 baking dish by lightly coating it with oil.
- Add the onion mix to the browned beef. Stir in taco seasoning until well mixed.
- Pour both pans into prepared dish and stir. Top with shredded cheese.
- Cook in oven at 400 for 20 minutes or until cheese is well melted and just starting to brown.
- To serve, place in a small bowl and stir a spoonful of sour cream. Spoon into tortilla chips for a thick and delicious meal.
