Mexican Lasagna

Okay, this is another recipe is a twist on one from my Grandma Olson. I liked her idea, but not necessarily the ingredients, so I made it the way I liked it. This is one of Nate's favorite dinners. It's so easy to make and I like that he gets some vegetables in him!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning and the water it requires(Nate likes the Taco Bell brand)
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed well and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn
flour tortillas (you could absolutely use corn tortillas, Nate prefers flour)
1 cup enchilada sauce or taco sauce
1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

Preparation:
Brown ground beef and season with taco seasoning as per seasoning packet directions. Halfway through cooking the beef, add diced green pepper and onion. Once beef is finished cooking, add the black beans and corn. You don't need to thaw or cook the corn first, it'll cook in the oven.

In an 8x8" baking dish spread some of the sauce into the bottom and then layer a tortilla on top. The tortillas we like fit perfectly into the 8x8" pan. Then spread a thin layer of sauce on top of the tortilla. Layer on some meat mixture and some cheese. Reserve a little cheese for the end of baking. Place a tortilla on next, followed by a thin layer of sauce,then repeat. You can make as many layers as you'd like. I usually just do two layers. I also don't use all the meat mixture. You should end up with a tortilla on top covered with some sauce. Cover with parchment paper and then with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese and return to oven. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is all melted. Let stand for 5 minutes and then dig in! This is a super hearty dinner, so I just serve it with a simple green salad. Enjoy!

*Okay, don't feel pressured to use all the meat mixture! With all the veggies added to the meat, it goes really far. I generally use about 2/3 of the meat mixture. Leftovers of the meat mixture are really good with some tortilla chips or in a tortilla, or for taco salad. Also, I think this would be really good if you used shredded chicken instead of beef.

I had originally posted this recipe back in late 2010. Nate and I have tweaked it a bit over the years and I finally took a picture of it, so I felt it warranted a re-post.


I shared this recipe over at Mandy's Recipe Box and Chef In Training.