"Mexican" Lasagna

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH, 2009

4.5 stars (out of 5 - simple and delicious!)

MB was coming for dinner, so I wanted to make something different from the other dishes I had made her and this old recipe popped into my mind. It ended up being the perfect thing to make, as it is a simple (non-finicky) recipe that I could cook while we chatted away!

Ingredients:

1.5-2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1.5 cups green or red pepper
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup salsa
2 tsp ground cumin
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
7" white tortilla shells
1.5 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Low fat sour cream
Optional: 2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced; 1/3 cup chopped green onions

1. First, I added the onion, garlic, and red pepper to a large wok and cooked until they were softened (5-7 minutes).

2. I then added the tomatoes, salsa and cumin and brought the mixture to a boil and simmered (uncovered) for 10 minutes. After this time, I added the beans and heated them for a few minutes.

3. Once this mixture was cooked, I sprayed a 9x9 pan (although there is enough mixture for a 13x9" pan...my oven just isn't big enough!!) and started to layer. First, I added 1/3 of the bean mixture, covered with one layer of tortillas and 1/2 of the cheese. I then added another layer of the bean mixture, tortillas, bean mixture and top with the remainder of the cheese. I baked it for 35 minutes at 350F, and let cool for 10 minutes.

4. Here you can garnish with tomatoes and green onions, but I kept it simple and just served it with a dollop of sour cream.

Me and MB before dinner!

Overall, this recipe is simple, yet very different from a lot of other dishes I make. I had actually forgot how good it tastes! I will definitely have to remember to make this again in the future.