California Casserole - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lb. ground round or chuck
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 to 3 Tbsp. chili powder or to taste
3 c. tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 Tbsp. salt, with about 1/2 Tbsp. cumin added
1 c. sliced black olives
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles
12 corn tortillas
cooking oil
2 c. small curd cottage cheese
1 egg
1/2 lb. thinly sliced Jack cheese
1 c. grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 c. chopped green onions
1/2 c. sour cream

Preparation

Brown meat in batches in a large, heavy frying pan.
(Don't put too much meat into the pan at once; it will cause the meat to turn grey instead of brown.)
Saute garlic and onion with last batch of meat.
Return all meat to pan.
Sprinkle chili powder over meat; mix well.
Add tomato sauce, sugar, salt, half the olives and all the diced chiles.
Simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.