mexican lasagna

Ben and I love our Mexican food. I can pretty much throw anything together with some tortilla, meat, cheese, onion and cilantro and we'll be licking our fingers. 

We have been saving our pennies lately because we are both on the job hunt with lots of money going out for school and our various bills, so I made this delicious dinner with whatever I could find in our pantry/refrigerator. It was a winner. I call it: Mexican lasagna.

I started off by browning some turkey with onion (I prefer turkey over beef but feel free to use beef if you like). After it was cooked, I added one taco seasoning packet (low sodium). I had about half a bag of frozen corn, so I added that to the bunch as well!

Next I went to work on the tortillas. We have the tortillas that come raw, so I had to fry them up (personally, I think they taste so much better, but normal tortillas work fine!). I cut them into strips so it would be easier to layer.

After my rice was done cooking in the rice cooker, I started to layer. I mixed a 16 oz jar of salsa with 1/4 cup of cream cheese (sour cream would taste wonderful as well, but I didn't have any on hand!). To start, I sprayed the pan with pam (or any non-stick cooking spray), and put a small amount of my salsa mixture on the bottom of the pan. I then layered some tortillas. Afterwards, I added more of my salsa mixture, rice, and then my meat/onion/corn mixture. Finally I add some cheese, I used cheddar because it was all I had, but I would prefer a Mexican blend for next time. I repeated these steps once more (creating two full layers), and to finish off, I topped it off with one more layer of tortillas, sauce and cheese. 

And there you have it! A delicious meal and I didn't even have to go to the grocery store! 

Mexican Lasagna
Printable version
Recipe by Nicia Johnson - Just a Nibble

Prep time: 20
Cook time: 30
Total time: 50
Ingredients

• 6 Raw, taco-sized flour tortillas
• 16 oz Jar salsa
• 1/4 C Cream cheese (or sour cream)
• 1 C White or brown rice
• 1 lb Ground turkey (or beef)
• 2 C Mexican cheese blend
• 1/2 Onion
• 8 oz Frozen corn
• 1 can Black beans
• 1 package Taco seasoning mix, low sodium (I use McCormick's)

Cooking Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add 1 cup of rice and 1 1/2 cups water to rice cooker and cook.
3. Spray large pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat to medium-heat.
4. Fry tortillas until they are cooked on both sides, cut into strips and set aside.
5. Mix jar of salsa with 1/4 cup of cream cheese (or sour cream), set aside.
6. Open can of black beans, set aside.
7. Dice onions, and add onions and turkey to your existing pan.
8. Once meat is cooked thoroughly, drain fat and add taco seasoning (use the package's instructions).
9. Add frozen corn to meat mixture and stir to de-thaw.
10. Spray medium sized baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
11. Spread 2 Tbsp salsa mixture over the bottom of your pan (add more if necessary).
12. Add the first layer of tortillas, followed by the salsa mixture, rice, beans, meat mixture, and cheese.
13. And the second layer of tortillas, followed by the salsa mixture, rice, beans, meat mixture, and cheese.
14. Add one last tortilla layer, finish with the rest of your salsa mixture on top and a layer of cheese.
15. Cook covered in the oven for 25 minutes, remove cover, and cook for 5 more minutes.

Enjoy!