Mrs. B. Cooks....Pedro's Special

Is there anything, anything better than the comfort food of your youth? That thing your mom used to make that you just loved...the one thing you knew that you had to be able to cook as an adult? Nothing fancy, just plain yummy.

For me, that food is Pedro's Special. I have not idea where this recipe came from originally. It plays out like a 70's Mexican version of tuna casserole. It is simple, uber delicious, and contains Doritos. Yes, that's right Doritos.

Here's what else it has:


Ingredients: Doritos, ground beef, pinto beans, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, and oregano (not shown - oops!).

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Then your going to brown your ground beef (turkey works just as well) with a small chopped onion and some garlic. I use a lot of garlic. I love garlic. Cook until the meat is browned all the way through. Drain off the grease and return to pan.

Then comes the tomato sauce.


You'd think we'd have tons of sauce sitting around with all of our tomatoes, but when we take the time to make a batch of sauce, it usually ends up getting used that day. We just can't wait for it.

Give that a good stir, and add your spices:


Chili powder, pepper, salt and just a pinch of garlic powder (because, you know, I love garlic). And then remember that you totally forgot to add oregano, and add that, too.


Stir that up really well, and bask in the delicious aroma. Smells good already, doesn't it? If the sauce looks a little dry, add about 1/3 cup water. You want this moist, but not soupy.

This mix is going to be the first layer of our casserole. Get a large pan or casserole dish, spray it with non-stick cooking spray (it's your friend). Layer in half of the meat mixture and spread it around.


Time for the beans. First you'll need to drain the beans, rinse them in cold water and drain them again. Take half the beans, and layer them on top of the ground beef mixture.

Not sure what's going on with the yellow in the picture, but we'll just ignore that, shall we?

Now comes the fun part. If you have a kid running around under foot, call 'em in, because this is the part they are going to love helping with. Open just a corner of your Dorito bag. Just enough to let air in, but not big enough to let the Doritos escape. Now smash them. No, really. Just grab the bag around the middle, and squeeze. You wanna get them broken up into pretty small pieces, but not completely crush them. Keep going until the whole bag is pretty smashed up, then add a layer to the pan.


Repeat the layers, ending in Doritos. Cover with foil, or a lid if your pan has one, and pop into the oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the foil (or lid) and pop back in for 10 minutes uncovered. Eat. You might want to add a dollop of sour cream. You can thank me later.


Pedro's Special

2 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped well
3-5 cloves garlic, minced (depending on personal taste)
1 (1 pound) can pinto beans (or pink beans), drained, rinsed and drained again
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1/3 cup water (if needed)
1/2 tsp oregano
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 bag Doritos, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat with onion and garlic until well browned. Drain and return to pan. Stir in tomato sauce, water (if needed), and spices. Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray. Alternate layers of meat mixture, beans and crushed chips, ending with chips. Bake 45 minutes, cover. Bake another 10 minutes uncovered. Serve with sour cream on the side and a green salad .