I can cook. Really. I can. However, the dish that is most requested by my fellow Parisians is Bev’s Taco Hotdish.
A little background. I worked with a group of grumpy old ladies in an office during college. You could still legally smoke and I think the office collectively smoked a carton a day. Bev was the grumpiest of the grumpy. A single lady in her 60’s had zero fucks to give and let everyone know it. However, she was kind. When she saw my lunches (yikes), she made an effort to give me recipes that were ‘budget friendly’ and make for one – with lots of microwaved lunches as well. It never occurred to me until my 40s that she made the recipes as cheaply as possible for her (and me).
I finally upgraded the ingredients to not be so skinny and inexpensive. But please know you can dial this recipe up and down in ingredients and it will taste pretty much the same.
Now on to the main event – you will need:
- 9×13 pan
- skillet
Ingredients
- 1.5# of ground beef (pick the one you like)
- 1.5 packets of taco seasoning (pick the one you like)
- 1/2 package of corn tortilla chips
- 15 oz sour cream
- 8 oz cottage cheese
- 4 oz whipped cream cheese (fromage fouette)
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375.
Prepare the taco meat using the directions on the taco packet. Pour chips into the 9×13 pan. Use your fingers to create chip crumbs (medium in size). Layer the taco meat and juice over the chips, Press down into a single layer. Layer the sour cream on top of the meat. Layer the cottage cheese on top of the sour cream. Add little plops of the whipped cream cheese on top. Spread cheddar cheese layer on top of that. You can eliminate the cottage cheese layer, which is not available widely in France. Just add an extra 4oz of fromage fouette. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Eat with cold salsa, chopped green onions, and olives. It tastes like a hug from home. Enjoy!
