Mexican Chili Casserole

So, I came up with this recipe the other night purely by accident and it worked out so well that I have made it twice in the past week. It was Sunday and the cupboards and refrigerator were pretty bare (I was putting off grocery shopping all week). I found a pound of lean ground beef, a can of pinto beans, a can of black beans, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, basmati rice, and sharp cheddar cheese...here is what I did.

I browned the ground beef, in a skillet and added 3 tablespoons of chili powder, I then added the beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and a dash of salt and pepper. I let this simmer over medium/low heat for about 5 minutes

While the beef was browning, I prepared the basmati rice (1 cup rice uncooked) (according to the directions).

In a 9"x9" pan I spread the basmati rice on the bottom, then added the beef/bean mixture by spreading it over the rice in an even layer. I then grated the cheddar cheese (about 2 cups) and sprinkled it in an even layer over the beef/been mixture.

I put the whole thing in a 425 degree over for 10 minutes to melt the cheese and make it bubble a little bit.

That is it! I Mexican Chili Casserole that you can love and is easy to make. YUMMY!