Manda's Taco Casserole

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. Cook and stir ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat until crumbly and browned, about 10 minutes; drain grease. Mix water and taco seasoning mix into ground beef, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Simmer ground beef mixture, stirring often, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Heat chili beans in a saucepan over low heat until simmering.

4. Spread layers of tortilla chips, ground beef mixture, and chili beans, respectively into a casserole dish; repeat layers until you run out of chips, beef, and beans. Top casserole with Cheddar cheese.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is bubbling and tips of exposed tortilla chips are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Cook's Note:

With all the different shredded cheese combinations you can get these days, you don't have to stick with just Cheddar either. And you can substitute ground turkey or use shredded chicken as well in place of the ground beef. This is awesome the next day after the flavors have had a chance to meld together even more.

We serve it with sour cream and salsa in our house.