Taco Casserole

"My family thought this was really good. I did make a couple of changes - I substituted a jar of salsa for the diced tomatoes and added about 1/4 cup chopped green pepper. I mixed the taco seasoning ..." See morepacket and about 3/4 cup water with the beef mixture (and heated it according to the taco seasoning directions) prior to adding the soup, salsa, and pasta in order to really get the seasoning flavor into the beef. I also used shredded Mexican blend cheese, and mixed about half of the total amount of cheese I used (about 1 cup) into the beef mixture before spooning it into the casserole dish and topping with the remaining cheese. I didn't feel the need to bake it for much longer than 10 to 15 minutes because all you really need to do at that point is melt the cheese since everything is already cooked. Finally, I added crushed tortilla chips just prior to serving to ensure they remained crispy."

"Made this for a girls weekend and although good, it wasn't spectacular. So I tried, tried again.... 2nd time around, added kidney beans for more fiber and cooked the meat in a combination of regular..." See more and hot taco seasoning with 3/4 cup minced onion, 2 tsp minced garlic and 2 tsp cumin, added a small can of chopped ortega chilis and 1/2 a small can of minced olives. Tried 1/2 soup and 1/2 salsa in place of whole can of soup to make it less sweet (much better). Used 1 can Del Monte fire roasted tomatoes with garlic to give the casserole an extra boost. Tripled the cheese and then divided it. Took 2/3's of the cheese and melted it into the pasta and meat mixture and then assembled the remainder as written. NOTE: Do Not overcook the pasta - cook al dente as the oven will finish it off. 3 stars based on the recipe. 4 stars with the modifications...."

"Very good,with modifications!*LOL* I didn't have tomato soup on hand, so I added a cup of salsa and 2 diced roma tomatoes.I also added dashes of red pepper to add more spice! Instead of tortilla chips..." See more, I added chili and lime flavored Fritoes, YUM! I,too,sprinkled cheese before the layer of chips, then more cheese after the chips. Baking time should be reduced to 15-20 minutes. Thank you!!"