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Southwestern Bean Casserole

Source of Recipe


Signa from The Chef at World Wide Recipes E-Zine






List of Ingredients



• 2 28-oz. cans refried beans
  
• 1 7-oz. can whole, mild, green chilies
  
• 1/2 lb. (or a little more) Colby or Longhorn cheese, sliced in 1/8" thick pieces
  
• 1 to 2 teaspoons corn oil or other vegetable oil to grease the pot
  






Instructions



1. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat the entire inside surface of the pot with oil.
   
   
2. Layer half of one can of beans in the bottom of the pot, smoothing it out into an even layer with the back of your spoon.
   
   
3. Seed and de-vein one of the chilies and cut or tear it into 1/4"-wide lengthwise strips; distribute evenly over the beans.
   
   
4. Place about a fourth of the cheese slices here and there over the chilies.
   
   
5. Repeat three more times, for a total of four layers in all, saving some attractive slices of cheese for the top.
   
   
6. Place the lid on the pot and bake for one hour at 350° or until heated through and slightly bubbly around edges.
   
   
7. Serves 15 to 20 as a potluck side dish. Recipe can easily be halved for a smaller crowd or doubled for a cast of thousands. Leftovers reheat nicely, if you're lucky enough to have leftovers.
   
   






Final Comments


*Tip for carrying to the potluck: Set a trivet or heatproof tile on your kitchen countertop with several sheets of newspaper opened out over it; set the pot on the papers over the trivet and wrap the papers up over the pot as tightly as you can, taping the paper together with masking or freezer tape or whatever's handy. Repeat wrapping once or twice with more layers of newspapers, taping as you go. You should end with a non-wrapped trivet and thickly wrapped, well-insulated pot that you can now pick up and carry to the car without benefit of potholders (which always get lost if you take them to potlucks.) Leave the pot wrapped until serving time to keep the contents hot.