Mexican Meatloaf

I love coming across versatile recipes and I came across such a recipe on a recent trip back home to MS/AL to visit family.  As I was perusing my mother-in-law's recipes, I stumbled upon one that just sounded yummy to me:  Mexican Meatloaf.  As I read through the ingredients, I knew it was one I wanted to try.  My family loves anything with a Mexican flare.  So here is the recipe:

Mexican Meatloaf

• 2 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 medium onion
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can of water
• 1 1/2 cups of instant rice (uncooked)
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 8 ounces taco sauce
• 1 can rotel tomatoes
• 1 bag Doritos
• 2 cups of a Mexican blend cheese - grated

Brown the ground beef and onion together.  Drain all the grease from the beef/onion mixture.  Add the cream of chicken, tomato, and mushroom soups along with the one can of water.  I substituted one can of Campbell's Fiesta Cheese soup for the cream of mushroom.  Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the instant rice, taco seasoning, taco sauce and the rotel tomatoes.
In 9X13 pan, layer the bag of Doritos (crushed) on the bottom.

Top with the meat mixture.

Bake uncovered in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with the grated cheese and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.

As you can tell by the pictures, this really comes out more like a casserole than a meatloaf.  My family loved this dish!  And as stated before, I like the versatility of this recipe.  You could always spice it up with a can of chopped jalapenos or substitute chicken for the ground beef or even add a can of black beans and/or corn!

What kinds of versatile recipes does your family enjoy?  I'm always looking for a good recipe to play around with!

Blessings,
Jennifer