Mexican Lasagna

Last month, yes it has been that long, I made this Mexican lasagna. It was pretty tasty! It made so much, that I froze half of it and baked it earlier this week for an easy dinner. This takes a little bit of time to prepare, but you could easily get two meals, or even more if you have a small family. Definitely try this, it puts a little twist on traditional tacos and lasagna. The only thing I will change next time is that I will use 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of ground meat and double the taco seasoning. I think it needed a little more meat, but my family liked meat, and I make my traditional lasagna with more meat as well.

Mexican Lasagna

adapted from Casual Cuisine

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

1 lb ground beef or turkey (I will probably use 1 1/2 or 2 pounds next time and double the taco seasoning.)

Taco seasoning-one package, or click here for a make-your-own substitute

1/2 cup water

28 ounce diced tomatoes, drained or crushed (i don't like a lot of chunks, so I used crushed.)

1 14-oz can of tomatoes and green chilies, drained (Rotel)

1 cup salsa, divided into two 1/2 cups

15 oz ricotta

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups frozen corn, thawed

8 tortillas (I used homemade whole wheat tortillas.)

8 oz monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
In a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat, saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper until tender.

Add in ground beef, and cook thoroughly. I usually turn the heat up to high halfway through, and I also stir it the entire time so it will break up well. Once beef is completely cooked, drain off fat.

Add taco seasoning, 1/2 cup water, and turn heat to low, stirring and letting simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, rotel, and 1/2 cup of the salsa. Let everything simmer for around 15 minutes, or longer. I let it simmer uncovered so that the liquid will reduce. If you don't have much liquid, then you can cover it and let it simmer.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine sour cream, ricotta cheese, remaining 1/2 cup of salsa, and 2 cups of corn together, and stir well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Once the sauce has had time to cook and reduce a little, begin assembling your lasagna. Using a slotted spoon for the sauce, place a small layer of sauce in the bottom of your baking dish.

On top of the sauce, make a layer of tortillas (where you would normally use lasagna noodles). I used 1 large tortilla for every layer in my 8x8 pans, but if you have a 9x12 you will need two large tortillas, side by side. You can break them up into strips, or leave them whole (I left them whole because they get cut up anyway).

On top of the tortillas, place a thin layer of the ricotta/salsa/corn mixture. Then sprinkle some of the monterey jack cheese. Repeat layers in the following order: Tortillas, meat sauce, ricotta mixture, and monterey jack. You'll make 3-4 complete layers, depending on how much of everything you use per layer and how many tortillas use have (just like a lasagna). You should end with one last layer of tortillas, sauce, ricotta mixture, and then a generous layer of monterey jack.

Place in oven, and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly but not overly browned.

Freezer tip: When I removed mine from the freezer to bake, I covered it with tin foil, and baked it at 350 for about an hour and a half to 2 hours covered, and then an additional 20-30 minutes uncovered. You could probably thaw it during the day and use less time when baking.

This recipe has been linked to Recipe Swap Thursday at Prarie Story.

This recipe has also been linked to Sunday Potluck at Mommy's Kitchen.