Rustle up a John Wayne Casserole for Dinner

Seriously - they had me at "John Wayne Casserole." How could I possibly not try a dish named after The Duke?

I'm glad I did. It was easy to make and delicious. There are several variations of this recipe on the Internet. The closest one to my version can be found here. I made a lighter version and omitted tomatoes and jalapenos in favor of Rotel (I am all about making things easier).

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef, cooked and crumbled

1 packet of taco seasoning mix (I use Publix brand)

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. of sour cream (I use Breakstone's light)

1/2 c. light mayonnaise (I recommend Duke's -- not because it is named Duke's but because it is the best light mayonnaise there is.)

8 ounces of light, sharp shredded Cheddar cheese

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 1/4 c. Bisquick light

2/3 c. skim milk

1 can Rotel (drained)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium high heat with chopped pepper and onion until meat is thoroughly cooked. Stir in packet of taco seasoning mix, water and drained Rotel.

In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise, sour cream and half the cheese. In another bowl, mix the Bisquick and milk.

Spread Bisquick dough mixture on the bottom of a 9"x13" casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Top with meat mixture and then mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Cook at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.

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