Cheap Couture Cuisine- Taco Lasagna

Y'all I absolutely love finding and cooking new receipes...and when I find something we can't get enough of I love sharing it too. I always get such great response when I do, so I'll keep on keepin' on. However, I'm gonna add a twist. I get so frustrated with receipes that get so outrageous in price...amen? A while back I posted about a dish that literally cost $45 to make. It's crazy and although I don't think there is anything wrong with bringing bling to your meals I think you can get the same effect just cheaper. On Mondays I'm going to add a new receipe each week that costs under $12 to make. I promise it will be yummy, that it's not just a box of mac and cheese and that it's feedable for a family of 4. Here's out first Cheap Couture Cuisine. Do enjoy! If you have one you think fits the bill, do e-mail me the receipe at aboyagirlandapug at gmail dot com (please substitute the words for symbols) and I'll give you the kudos for it. So let's feed the fam without breaking the bank so we can spend it on other stuff...like Gap or those awesome shoes at Banana Republic.

Taco Lasagna
I actually found this receipe on the back of the Old El Paso Taco Bake kit.
Hubby thought this one was rocking!

But first here's a tip. If you can weigh out the cost and buy it in a package do! Many a time the price of the package will come in cheaper then buying all the items separately. For instance, this Old El Paso box cost only $2. To buy everything separately would cost well over $5 and if you have a small family you may not need all those tortillas. I only buy a separate thing of flour tortillas if I'm making a meal for more than 4 or the dish calls for a lot of tortillas it.


You need:
1 box of Old El Paso Taco Bake (in it will have 4 flour tortillas, cheese sauce and seasoning) on sale $2.00
1 Jar of Salsa $1.74
Shredded Cheddar $1.98
1 lb of beef $3.68
1 can of kidney beans $0.44
1 cup of water Free (well sort of)

TOTAL COST: $9.84*
Whoa made it way under!

Brown beef and drain then add with the meat HALF of the cheese sauce in the box, 1 cup of water and seasoning. Bring to a boil and lower temp. simmering for 4 minutes. Then add drained and rinsed kidney beans, rest of cheese sauce and stir for a few minutes. In a small baking dish add 1 tortilla top with some salsa, meat mixture, and sprinkle with cheese. Continue layering and finish with salsa, meat and cheese on top. Bake at 400 for 17-20 minutes.

Total does not include tax.