This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NaturallyCheesy #CollectiveBias Thanks to Walmart and Kraft for sponsoring this post and recipe!
Can you believe it’s September already?! It seems like summer just started. How is it possible that we are already dealing with kids going back to school, shorter days and the looming pumpkin spice everything phenomenon. Getting back into real life after summer break is a struggle that every parent can relate too. For us, this year it is even worse as I now have a college student and our usual slow and laid back homeschool transition from summer to fall has been abolished and we have been forced into real world school schedules and it hasn’t been pretty.
The biggest struggle for me is making dinner. After all the running around with 6 kids, helping my young collegiate with mind numbing algebra equations, writing and trying to sneak in some exercise and I’m spent by 6:00. Suddenly the day is gone and I’m forced to order pizza, drive through a fast food joint or *gasp* feed the kids cereal for dinner (like you haven’t done it). What’s a mom to do?
I was once told that preparation was the key to success…..I’m a fly be the seat of my pants kinda girl and probably laughed in the face of whoever said that to me, however this month, I’m making it my mission to be prepared ahead of time when it comes to dinner.
How exactly am I going to do that, you ask…..Make ahead freezer meals!! Freezer meals are the busy mom’s BFF. You can easily batch prepare 3-4 different recipes and end up with 10-12 nutritious dinners that require the same amount of time and effort as navigating the fast food drive through.
My favorite freezer meal is this delicious Taco Casserole. Filled with Mexican spiced ground beef and spanish rice and topped with Kraft All Natural Cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and tortilla chips, this casserole is a crowd pleaser for sure.
Easy Freeze Ahead Taco Casserole
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups cooked spanish rice
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
1 cup Kraft All Natural Shredded Mexican Cheese (Walmart has the lowest price on this cheese!)
1 cup lettuce
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 cups crumbled tortilla chips
Directions:
Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning
In an 8 x 8 casserole dish, layer the rice then the ground beef.
Pour enchilada sauce over the rice and ground beef.
Top with cheese.
At this point you can either bake it at 350 for 15 minutes or you can freeze it. If you eat it now, remove it from the oven and sprinkle with lettuce, tomatoes and tortilla chips and serve immediately.
If freezing the casserole, make sure to seal up the pan with aluminum foil before freezing.
When you are ready to cook it, preheat oven to 375. Make sure the casserole is still covered with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes. You can also thaw the casserole in the fridge to cut the cooking time in half.
If you want to spice your casserole up a bit, I recommend using Kraft Natural Pepper Jack Cheese Slices in place of the shredded cheese. The pepper jack takes it to whole other delicious level!
To help you in your quest to find dinnertime simplicity, Walmart is offering an awesome digital coupon for $.55 off Philadelphia 2-pack & $.75 off 16oz Shreds.
Inquiring minds want to know……What’s your go to meal when life gets crazy?
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