A nice month

I know that August has just begun...but I am feeling good.

feeling good in my new space, feeling good in my head...I finally feel like I belong.

I don't need a huge space, I don't need a trendy neighborhood....Turns out I needed a smallish duplex, in a quiet neighborhood and a wooden fence.

When we bought the house, there was no fence in the back and I felt uncomfortable sitting outside like an over easy egg...

but it all changed with this...

 How can part of a fence make so much difference?

I don't know and it is between my 2 ears for sure!

But it makes a world of difference!

We have been hanging out in the yard nearly every day!

 I can hear my babbling mini Niagara (really loud)

 And tend to my mostly herb garden.

 Today I felt so good and inspired by all the local produce that I am making a lasagna with lotsa vegs

inside....for the freezer and probably a Mexican lasagna for the freezer as well.

I have strong squirrel genes and I like to make reserves....

in case you are wondering...we are still not totally unpacked and that is quite

alright alright alright...

I will explain in the next post!

Be well and stay thrifty

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!

Comfort Food Deliciousness

I'd been dreaming of Mexican lasagna for quite a while now...I couldn't find my recipe...rats

I checked the internet and here's what I found...

 MEXICAN LASAGNA


I believe it comes from A  Taste of Home. It was a Mexican lasagna (recipe below), with layers of yummy goodness!


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

1 cup each diced onions and diced green bell pepper

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed (I used more)

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups pasta sauce  (I used plain ol' tomato sauce)
1 cup medium salsa

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (more,more,more)

4 large or 8 small whole wheat flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups shredded light sharp cheddar cheese (I used a blend of light mozzarella and cheddar)

1/4 cup green onions (more)

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 (or ground beef), 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.

As part of my mexican lasagna fantasy, I was assembling it in this particular Pyrex casserole. It the 475 size 2 1/2 quarts and it fits small tortillas perfectly!

I took it out of the oven and it looked pretty pale...so I removed the foil and stuck it back in the oven for about 15 mins.

Layers of yumminess!

Last layer....I was worried that the green onions would taste blah after cooking but they were heavenly!

All bubbly and hot from the oven!

I served it with a green salad. It was better than my old recipe!

Since I looooovvvveeee leftovers; I had enough of eveything for a smaller second one that is now waiting in the freezer! In Pyrex of course!

Have a great day!