Taco Bake

So here's how this came about. In June of 2008, my brother in law and his family were coming to visit us. Me, not thinking, didn't prepare a meal plan since I figured they'd be eating on the road. Well an hour from our house, they called and they were hungry! LOL I needed something that would feed a small army, our 5 and their 4...
So...after taking stock of what I had I came up with this. Little did I know that it would turn into a staple at our house. It's very kid friendly and VERY easy to play around with. I think that's why I like it so much!

2 lbs ground beef
3-4 cups nacho cheese flavor Doritos, crushed
4-6 flour tortillas
16 ounces shredded cheddar cheese or mexican cheese
2 (1 1/4 ounce) packages taco seasoning
1 (10 ounce) can refried beans
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces salsa
shredded lettuce
tomato
any other taco toppings you like

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crush Dorito Chips.

Brown ground beef and drain, making sure it is crumbled well. Add in taco seasonings according to directions on packets.

Spray 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

Lay down 2 tortillas to cover bottom of pan. You may have to rip them to make them fit.

Add a layer of ground beef and then a handful (or more if you choose) of shredded cheese onto meat.

Add a layer of crushed dorito's onto cheese.

Repeat until you reach the top of the baking dish, ending with a layer of chips. Depending on how big my chunks of meat are, I can get 2 or 3 layers into a baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes. Warm refried beans and spread on top of "casserole."

Finish by spreading sour cream, salsa, shredded lettuce and whatever other toppings you like onto the dish.

I always like to garnish is with a light layer of chips onto the top of it after I am done layering.

Note: Cheese and chip amounts are estimates. I usually end up using 2 bags of cheese, but it really is in how much you put into each layer. The same applies with the chips.