So, sometimes I have huge blonde moments. This hair color is somewhat natural, so I blame it on my genes. A few years ago when I was still living in Corpus Christi, a friend of mine was telling me he use to work at Churchs so he would also be allowed to bring home fried chicken at the end of the day. I was thinking churchs, like buildings where Christian’s gather to worship the Lord. I was kind of confused but then I thought, “well, every time I go to a funeral, people always bring fried chicken to the family, so I guess that is what he was referring to.” I felt really dumb when he told me that he meant he use to work at Church’s Fried Chicken. That is probably why we don’t talk much anymore.. HA!
When my grandpa passed on in 2009, my granny from my dad’s side made this casserole that is way too dangerous. I ate about half the casserole that day and I was so miserable for the rest of the day. My granny called it “Grieving Casserole” because she always brought it to people when a family member passed on. The casserole is pretty much like King Ranch Chicken casserole, but with ground beef instead of chicken. This casserole embodies Texas food: tortillas, beef, and Ro-tel.
This recipe is easy and fairly cheap. First, brown a pound of ground beef with diced onions, cumin and salt and pepper to taste.
After you have browned the beef, drain it and put it into a bowl. Mix in a can of cream of mushroom soup and half a can of Ro-tel tomatoes. You can buy any kind of Ro-tel that you like, but I prefer chunky.
Now, we’re almost done and ready to enjoy our cheesy, creamy, Mexican food! Layer a lightly-greased loaf pan with crushed up corn tortilla chips until it covers the bottom of the pan. Then, dump half of the meat mixture on top and then shredded cheddar cheese on top of that. Then, repeat so that now you have 2 layers of each! Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is warm and bubbly.
You can top this dish with anything that your little heart desires such as shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, more cheese, green onions, or just eat it plain and easy.
I like to keep a little meat on my bones, so I added a little dollop of sour cream ;)! I hope you enjoy this easy, affordable dish.
With love, from Texas!
britt
June 19, 2012 at 1:03 am
lolol!! that church’s chicken story had me cracking up. ha!
SQMA
July 10, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Could you post the King Ranch Chicken casserole recipe? Found you through Pinterst 🙂
bethanyjackson
August 14, 2012 at 11:05 pm
I will post it ASAP. I’m so glad that you found me through that lovely site 🙂
bethanyjackson
January 16, 2013 at 3:57 am
Hello, SQMA! I posted the King Ranch Chicken recipe that you requested, hope you enjoy it!
Lora Cumbie
July 16, 2012 at 10:31 pm
Tried this recipe tonight – super easy and oh so delicious!!
bethanyjackson
August 14, 2012 at 11:06 pm
So glad you liked it!!!!
Kacie
July 30, 2012 at 12:44 am
Made this tonight for dinner and it was DELISH!
bethanyjackson
August 14, 2012 at 11:06 pm
It’s the best, right?! Glad you enjoyed it !
Stephanie
September 29, 2012 at 11:05 pm
I just made this for dinner (we’re actually still eating it!) and it is so good! I had to make some modifications based on the fact that I didn’t have cream of mushroom soup or Rotel but it’s awesome! Next time I’m going to add in some guacamole. My husband is talking about even turning it into burritos! Yes! A recipe he likes! 🙂 Thank you!
bethanyjackson
January 16, 2013 at 4:02 am
This would be great in burrito form (anything’s good between a flour tortilla 😉 ) thank you for the suggestion!
Molly
December 1, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Do you have the measurements. Just says add cumin add salt, etc. How much?
bethanyjackson
January 16, 2013 at 3:52 am
I use about a teaspoon of cumin, then taste it and may add more if I feel like it needs it. Same goes for salt. Just season the ground beef!
Polly Conner
December 16, 2012 at 7:34 pm
How much cumin & what do u do with the the 1/2 can of rotel?
bethanyjackson
January 16, 2013 at 3:52 am
I use about a teaspoon of cumin, then taste it and may add more if I feel like it needs it.
bethanyjackson
January 16, 2013 at 4:01 am
And are you referring to the leftover Rotel? You could make some chile con queso. Melt Velvetta cheese with a pinch of cumin and Rotel and you have a yummy dip!
Lisa
December 27, 2012 at 10:26 pm
After eating ham and all sorts of holiday food leftovers this looked like a great idea for something different and yummy! I am patiently waiting for it to finish cooking in the oven!! we all can’t wait to dig in. I too had to make a change but only because I was out of tomatoes so I used mild chunky salsa instead..I’ll let you know how it goes!! Thanks for the recipe!
bethanyjackson
January 16, 2013 at 4:03 am
Hope you enjoyed it… I’m sure the salsa did A-OK!
geradinemcc
January 7, 2013 at 3:22 pm
This looks really delicious and like the perfect comfort food! So easy to prepare!
bethanyjackson
January 16, 2013 at 3:59 am
It is the best comfort food, perfect when you are craving something a little heavy!
Lorri Clark
January 16, 2013 at 3:26 am
I made this recipe this evening, using nacho cheese doritios, which was the only chips I had on hand. It was DELICIOUS! served with some sour cream as well and sweet corn on the side, my 3 boys devoured it!
bethanyjackson
January 16, 2013 at 3:53 am
That sounds even better with Nacho Cheese Doritos. I will have to try it!!!
jamie
January 16, 2013 at 10:55 pm
trying this for the first time looks awesome and it’s so easy to make!
Sharon S.
January 23, 2013 at 2:35 am
Typing this as I finish my dinner. This dish is delicious! I was surprised how much my husband liked it. I found the recipe on Pinterest. Thank you so much. It’s a keeper!
dianna fugitt
January 27, 2013 at 9:08 pm
We call this Mexican Meatloaf……….when we cook it we cant seem to make enough………that’s if all the kids & grandkids are here…….and at work pot luck dinners you always have to serv with copies of the recipe…….LOL!!!!_____
Eileen
February 8, 2013 at 5:09 am
Do the chips stay crispy or are they mushy?
bethanyjackson
February 8, 2013 at 2:45 pm
They’re mushy because they’re cooking in soup. The chips on the top are crunchy though.
Melissa
February 26, 2013 at 12:53 am
Had this for dinner tonight! Everyone loved it, even my picky 5 yr old. Will definitely make again!
Susan
March 4, 2013 at 4:22 pm
I have committed a cardinal sin in TX. I am out of tortilla chips, but have corn tortillas. Whew. I am going to cut them up and use to layer like I do my King Ranch Chicken recipe. Am sure it will be delish! Thank the sharing your recipe. I can’t wait to look around your blog. BTW, I found this on Pinterest too. Don’t you LOVE that site? 🙂
Margo
March 8, 2013 at 11:58 pm
Your recipe sounds really good. I will be trying it very soon. Also, just wondering, why did you add the word Cowboy, when you said your grandma called it “Grieving Casserole”?
bethanyjackson
March 9, 2013 at 5:31 am
I felt like grieving casserole didn’t explain it and it’s the beed-version of ‘King Ranch Chicken’, so I decided it was fit for a cowboy name.