Taco Bake

This is another recipe my mother used to make a lot.  It's fairly simple, but it's quite good thanks to the combination of flavors and textures.  It would probably be easy to make a vegetarian version of this.  I'd suggest a can of chopped tomatoes, zucchini, black or pinto beans, and any other vegetables you enjoy with Mexican flavors.  But for you meat-eaters out there, go for the ground beef.

Ingredients: 1.25 lbs ground beef, 1 can tomato sauce, 12 oz corn, 1 packet taco seasoning, 1/4 cup water, 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix (1 egg and milk for the corn muffin mix), 1 can French's french fried onions, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Start by browning the ground beef in a skillet.  Once cooked, drain most of the fat and add the packet of taco seasoning and water.  Add the corn and the can of tomato sauce and mix.  Once heated through, pour mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish.

Prepare the corn muffin mix according to package directions.  Mix in 1/2 can of the french fried onions.  Spoon atop the ground beef mixture in the casserole dish, creating a box around the center.  The corn muffin mix will expand as it bakes, so this technique should yield even cooking.

Bake for 20 minutes.  At this point, open the oven and sprinkle the remaining french fried onions and the shredded cheddar cheese on top.  Bake for another 2 minutes until the cheese melts.  Remove from the oven, scoop, and serve.