Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Here it is!

Comfort food is so very important in our lives especially when life goes awry or the weather is freezing. We all need food that makes us feel warm and secure. And I don't mean food to numb us....

So here is the long awaited recipe...

Mexican Lasagna


1 1/2 pounds ground chicken (we used lean ground beef)

1 cup each diced red onions and diced green bell pepper

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed (I use a 19oz can)

1 cup diced tomatoes ( I use a 26 oz can)

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn (I use 1 cup)

1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups pasta sauce ( I use 1 can of condensed tomato soup)

1 cup medium salsa ( optional)

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

4 large or 8 small whole wheat flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups shredded light sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup green onions

sour cream, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the ground chicken, onions, green pepper and garlic over medium-high heat until the chicken is no longer pink. Break up any large pieces of chicken as it is cooking.

Add black beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Add pasta sauce, salsa and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro and remove from heat.

To assemble casserole, spread a third of the sauce mixture over bottom of casserole dish. Top with half of the tortillas, overlapping and cutting them as necessary to fit. Top with a third of the sauce mixture, followed by half of the cheese. Cover cheese with remaining tortillas, followed by remaining sauce. Sprinkle remaining cheese over sauce and top with green onions. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Let lasagna stand for at least 10 minutes before slicing for easier serving. Top each piece with a dollop of sour cream.

This is a delicious recipe. Sometimes I do substitutions, sometimes not. I do a freezer inventory before and this time I used frozen green pepper and leftover frozen cheese. I usually use the leftover sauce to make a small lasagna that I freeze for later use. You can do this on the weekend and freeze it for another day.
 
I make mine in Pyrex! Are you surprised? You can substitute ingredients to make it more figure friendly....
 
And of course it tastes even better the next day!  
                                                                       I serve it with a nice green salad and a smile!
 
Tomorrow I visit a church basement and I'm having super with the girls! PARTY!

4 comments:

The Thriftaholic (Leilani) said...

Yum, this sounds like a great casserole to bring to a potluck or picnic!! Will have to try out this recipe soon (and bake it in vintage pyrex of course).

Laura said...

Thank you so much for the recipe. I might just try it out this weekend (annual family reunion & potluck). I have a "Friendship" deep casserole dish that I thrifted about 3 months ago - it's time to put it to work!
I hope you are feeling much better now. take care, Laura

The White Pear Tree said...

It sounds really yummy! I will definitely try it. Hope you have fun with your gal pals tomorrow!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

This looks great! Thanks for sharing the recipe! hugs, Linda