I love to get creative with simple ingredients. When I was invited to come on Charlotte Today as a guest, the producer told me the theme was “Easy, Weeknight Meals.” Now that I’m traveling so much, the easier the prep is, the better! Don’t get me wrong, I love to plan elaborate meals– but only when I have the time to pull them off without stress. I may not have kiddos, but I know all too well the feeling of coming home after a long day and not having the energy or the imagination to figure out dinner.
This dish is inspired by my love of Mexican food and 95% of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry. Cans make homemade easy! A combo of canned black beans, refried beans, southwestern corn, and Mexican style chopped tomatoes are layered with tortillas, taco seasoned ground turkey, and cheese. You can make this ahead so all you need to do is put the casserole dish in the oven when you get home. 30 minutes later, you’ve got a delicious dinner that tastes like you’re out at your favorite neighborhood cantina– add in a cold margarita for the adults, and you’re guaranteed to keep this in your “Easy Weeknight Meals” rotation. And, you can add more layers to make a bigger casserole– it doesn’t matter what order you put the ingredients in. This is the perfect dish to have your kids help with– they’ll love building up the layers of delish!
Charlotte Today host Eugene Robinson was pretty stoked when he tasted the final product! Check out the video below…
Get in My Belly! With Charlotte Today host, Eugene Robinson
You can also check out Cans Get You Cooking for easier, healthy delish!
*This is a sponsored post, but the recipe and the opinions expressed are my own.
7 Layer Turkey Bake
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 package taco seasoning
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 Tb canola oil
- package of corn or flour tortillas
- 1 can refried beans
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 can fiesta corn with red peppers (drained)
- 1 can chopped Mexican style tomatoes (drained)
- 1 can black beans (drained)
- 1 can red enchilada sauce
- 1 can pickled jalapenos (optional if kids don’t like it too spicy)
- 1 package of Mexican style cheese
- Cilantro, avocado and black olives for garnish.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- In a large skillet, brown turkey in canola oil. Add ⅔ cup water and taco seasoning. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat, cooking until thickened, about 6-7 minutes. (Unlike ground beef, you won’t need to drain the turkey because it’s so lean).
- Spread tortillas out on a casserole dish that’s been sprayed with cooking spray.
- Mix can of refried beans with sour cream and spread on top of tortillas.
- Layer with seasoned ground turkey, corn, tomatoes, black beans, jalapenos and cheese. Pour can of enchilada sauce over entire casserole. You can add additional cheese to another layer if you want!
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes until cheese bubbles.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro, sliced avocado and black olives.
