Foodie Friday: Creamy Mexican Stove-Top Casserole, (DIY Philly Cooking Creme)

A while ago Philadelphia released "Cooking Cremes" in several different flavors. My favorite by far is the Santa Fe Cooking Creme- it is spicy and has a definite mexican flare. The cooking creme can be a little pricey though, especially if you use the whole tub for one meal, so I decided to experiment and try to recreate a mexican cooking creme that I could use to make similar recipes. Also, I decided I wanted to make a cooking creme made from simpler, more pure ingredients.

What I ended up with is a really great sauce, that you could use in a lot of different ways. This particular recipe mixes it with ground beef for a meaty casserole-type dish. I served hot from the stove over some tortilla chips, covered in cheese. You could also try it in some tortillas for a healthier option. This sauce contains sour cream, so be careful not to scald it!

This recipe contains 2-4 servings, depending on how you serve them, and how big your appetites are.

You will need:

• 1lb lean ground beef
• 1 cup frozen sweet corn
• ½ packet McCormick taco seasoning
• ½ cup sour cream
• 5oz cream cheese (softened)
• 7 oz (1/2 can, drained) diced tomatoes, or 1 can Mild RO-TEL (drained)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

1. Pour olive oil and press peeled garlic into large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes
2. Add ground beef to skillet, along with salt and pepper taste. Cook thoroughly on medium-high, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes
3. While the ground beef is cooking, in a small saucepan add sour cream, cream cheese, and taco seasoning. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until combined (5-10 minutes, depending on how soft cream cheese was)
   

4. Once beef is cooked, and cream sauce is combined, drain out the majority of the oil and grease. Then add the cream sauce, tomatoes (or RO-TEL if you want your dish have a little extra kick to it), and corn to the beef. Stir together

5. Over medium-high heat, allow skillet to come to a simmer. Lower to medium heat and cover. Let cook for 8-10 minutes or until heated through, stirring frequently
6. Serve over a bed of tortilla chips (or in tortillas) with Monterrey-Jack cheese sprinkled on top

Other ideas:

• Use the same cream sauce, same veggies, essentially the same method, but use chicken chunks. Then serve over Rotini pasta for a Mexican Skillet Pasta (much like the recipe provided by Philadelphia for their Santa Fe Skillet Pasta)
• Bake some cheese enchiladas, covered in this sauce (haven't tried it, but it sounds good!), or switch it and bake this inside the enchilada with a cheese sauce on top
• Cut the beef down to 1/2 pound (or cut it out completely), creating a creamier sauce, and serve as a warm dip at a party
• Using 1/2 cup sour cream, and 5 oz cream cheese, add your own spices to create your own cooking cream! Then share your recipes here with us :)