Mexican Lasagna

This is one of my favorite weeknight recipes.  So easy and and yummy, too.   It tastes just like an enchiladas but without the fuss of making enchiladas.

The recipe can easily be made in advance and refrigerated for a few days before cooking.  The recipe below is made using a 13″ x 9″ baking dish.    Sometimes I make it that way, but the recipe makes 6-8 servings so I usually prepare the recipe and split it into two 9″ x 7″ x 2.5″ Pyrex baking dishes.  I pop one in the refrigerator, and the other one goes in the freezer to be thawed and baked later.  Don’t worry if you don’t have the exact same size of dish that I do — two 8″ square baking dishes would work fine, too.

I’ve made this recipe several times now, and it’s always been delicious.  I will tell you that the recipe is a little spicy — maybe too spicy for some — but to me, it has just the right amount of heat.   There’s only one time I cooked it that it came out a little too spicy for my taste.  I suspect it was because the jalapenos in the can of ranch-style pinto beans I bought were a little hotter  than usual. because I’ve followed the same recipe each time.   The next time I made it, it was perfect.     Bottom line:  if you’re worried that the recipe might be too spicy for your taste, just use half a can of the jalapeno ranch-style pinto beans . . . or none at all.

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground pork (Can be mild pork sausage or ground pork.  I’ve used both, and either works well.)
1/2 pound ground beef
1 (15-ounce) can jalapeno ranch-style pinto beans, drained
2/3 cup canned diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of celery soup
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce
9-12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 green onions, chopped (optional)
1-2 medium tomatos, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1-2 medium avocados, chopped

Preparation:

Cook ground pork and ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in beans and next 5 ingredients; cook until thoroughly heated.

Stir together soups and enchilada sauce in a saucepan; cook until thoroughly heated.

Spoon one-third of sauce onto bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish (or split it into two pans as I suggested above).  Top with 3-5 tortillas.   (I cut or tear the corn tortillas to ensure the entire layer is covered with tortillas.)

Spoon half of beef mixture and one-third of sauce over tortillas.  Sprinkle with half of Cheddar cheese.  Top with 3-5 tortillas, cutting or tearing them as necessary.

Repeat layers ending with tortillas.

Sprinkle the top with tomato, green onions, cilantro and Monterrey Jack cheese.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Top with avocado.

Hope you’ll try this one.  It’s muy bueno, I assure you.

This recipe is adapted from a Southern Living recipe.