Monday, November 8, 2010

Southwest Lasagna

This recipe is inspired by my friend Leanne.  She told me about it one night, and I decided to try a version of my own.  I was a little unsure of a few things--so I got a few suggestions from my mom as well.  The flavor was great.  It was easy to make.  The only thing that went wrong was the lasagna sort of fell apart on my plate.  Suggestions anyone?  I also had way too much filling for my two quart casserole pan, so I froze the rest of it.  This recipe either calls for a bigger casserole dish or halfing the recipe (unless you want to freeze it like I did).

4 whole wheat tortillas
1 can of enchilada sauce
1 lb. of ground beef or turkey
1 yellow onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 packet of taco mix
1 can of corn (drained very well)
1 can of tomatoes (drained very well)
1 bunch of cilantro chopped
1 can of chopped chilis
8 oz of cheddar cheese or the Mexican blend
Handful of chopped olives for the top

1) In a frying pain, brown ground beef.  When close to done, add chopped green pepper and onion. Then follow instruction on the taco mix packet.  Drain the grease.  Transfer to a large bowl.
2)  Add the corn, chilis, tomatoes and chopped cilantro to the the bowl and mix well with the ground beef mixture.  Set aside.
3) Use cooking spray or butter to grease the sides of the casserole dish.  Pour enchilada sauce into a bowl.  Cut the tortillas into strips about 1 1/2 inches side.  Dip in the enchilada sauce and cover the bottom of the pan.  Add a layer of the ground beef and then cover with cheese.  Cover the mixture with layers of tortilla strips dipped in enchilada sauce.  Repeat this step until the pan is full.  The last layer should be tortilla strips, cheese and olives if you would like to add them.
4) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and cook for 30 minutes.  The cheese should be melted and the lasagna bubbling.



Tips:
* Make this vegetarian by adding black beans instead of meat.
*This dish should freeze well.
*This dish can be made the night before, refrigerated and popped in the oven for a quick dinner.   

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