John Wayne Casserole

Soooo, yeah. The only reason I made this recipe was because it's called 'John Wayne Casserole'. That's it. My husband loves John Wayne. In fact, Jesse's middle name is Wayne because of Heath's love for 'The Duke' (I wanted to name him Jesse Barret J. so his initials would be JBJ, like Jon Bon Jovi, but Heath said over his dead body. Whatever).

I had no idea what to expect with this. I wasn't expecting much, I'll tell you that, but it actually turned out to be really good. That sour cream/mayo/cheddar cheese mixture that gets poured on top absolutely makes it. It's really good, and moistens up the dish a bit...adds a subtle creaminess to the dish.

I'm posting the recipe as I found it originally, but for my little family of three, I cut it in half and made it in an 8x8 baking dish (I usually cut 9x13 dishes in half the first time I make them just in case it sucks, then I don't have to throw out a large amount of food). However if you're feeding any more then two adults and a small child, you'll want to stick with the original directions.

Not sure what makes this John Wayne's casserole, but it was certainly good, and something that Heath asked to be added to our favorites...so that's a win!

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'John Wayne Casserole'

Source: Adapted from Mississippi Magazine

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained

1 (1.25-ounce) packet taco seasoning

4 ounces sour cream

4 ounces mayonnaise

8 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 cups biscuit mix

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 (4-ounce) can sliced jalapeno peppers

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325. Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning and water, according to packet instructions; set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, 4 ounces of cheddar cheese, and half of the onions; set aside.

3. Stir biscuit mix and water (directions on box) to form soft dough. Pat dough on the bottom and one-half-inch up the sides of an 9 x 13 in. greased casserole dish.

4. Saute remaining onions and bell peppers until slightly tender.

5. On top of biscuit mix, evenly distribute ingredients in the following order: ground beef, tomato slices, green peppers, onions, jalapeno peppers, sour cream mixture and end with remaining shredded cheese.

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until edges of dough are lightly browned.

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