Sunday, October 16, 2011

Mexican Lasagna

   I know we have discussed the merits to using flour tortillas before, in the Easy Breezy Lasagna recipe; today I will introduce you to the recipe that originally inspired that version. It is a "take" on Kidney Bean-Tortilla Lasagna from The Stocked Kitchen by Sarah Kallio and Stacey Krastins. Click here to see what "The Stocked Kitchen" is all about! It just goes to show you that you can take just about any recipe and tweak it to fit your own tastes. Don't ever be afraid to try to change things, within reason, of course. If you keep your changes in the same "family" or limited to things you already know go together, you can still come up with your own version of just about anything.
   The original recipe is vegetarian, at least I think that's what it is, having no meat in it. That doesn't fly in this house, all my men are meat eaters, so I substitute some ground beef for a can of kidney beans, and call it Mexican Lasagna, and they'll never know it was inspired by a meatless meal! That will be our little secret, okay?

  • 1-1/2 lbs lean ground round (90% or better)
  • 3 cups any Spaghetti Sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • One 15-1/2 ounce can small red beans, or kidney beans, rinsed & drained
  • one 4 ounce can sliced or chopped drained black olives (optional)
  • Two cups kernel corn, from a one or two lb bag 
  • 6 flour tortillas (medium-soft taco size)
  • 2 cups grated cheese (I use 1 cup of mozzarella & one cup of extra sharp cheddar, mixed)



Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Spray a 10 inch skillet with nonstick spray, and brown ground beef until beef is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat (with the really lean stuff you might actually have to add some cooking oil to brown it correctly). Add the dried minced onion, the spaghetti sauce, sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic, the beans, olives, if using, and the corn. Stir well and get it hot. Spoon 1 cup mixture into bottom of baking dish, cover with 2 tortillas, follow with 1/3 of the balance of the meat mixture, 1/3 of the cheeses. Repeat two more times. Cover with aluminum foil, slip into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes to get the cheeses melted and browned. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Cut like lasagna. Touchdown!



   I hope you give this one a whirl. Its easy, healthy, and just plain GOOD! 
   Also please be sure to check out The Stocked Kitchen website (posted earlier on this page) for more recipes, ideas and discussions on working from a stocked kitchen!
   Love hearing from you all!




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Olé! This looks delicious. Yeah bring on the meat I say.  

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