Lisa's Favorite Mexican Rice

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Description

Get the flavors of tacos in this rice and ground beef casserole with Cheddar cheese, kidney beans, frozen vegetables, and salsa.

Ingredients

cooking spray
2 teaspoons olive oil, or to taste
1/2 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ground beef
1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning mix
4 cups cooked rice
1 (16 ounce) package southwestern-style mixed frozen vegetables
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a casserole dish with cooking spray.
2 Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic in hot oil until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes; add ground beef and continue to cook while breaking beef into small pieces with a wooden spoon until the beef is completely browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Season beef mixture with the taco seasoning mix.
3 Stir beef mixture, rice, vegetables, kidney beans, 1 cup Cheddar cheese, salsa, and olives together in the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the mixture.
4 Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is melted and the dish is hot in the center, about 30 minutes.