Saturday, August 30, 2008

Mexican Lasagna


Mexican Lasagna 
(from The Pioneer Woman)
approximately 12 servings

1 1/2 cups white rice
2 cups water
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup butter
1 tomato, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 tablespoons chili powder, divided
2 teaspoons cumin, divided
2 teaspoons paprika, divided
1 can black beans, drained
1 pound ground beef
1 8 ounce jar salsa verde
10 flour tortillas
1 8 ounce bag mexican blend cheese
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can corn, drained
sour cream
cilantro

Bring rice, water and chicken broth to a boil; lower heat and simmer 20 minutes. Meanwhile, saute tomato, onion, and garlic in butter until soft. Add 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1 teaspoon paprika to tomato mixture. Combine rice, tomato mixture and beans. Cook ground beef and add remaining spices. In a 13x9x2 pyrex dish pour 1/2 of the salsa verde. Place 5 tortillas on the salsa - they will overlap some. Spread 1/2 the rice and bean mixture over the tortillas. Top with half the cheese. Place the remaining 5 tortillas on the cheese and pour the enchilada sauce over them. Spread the ground beef and corn over the enchilada sauce. Top with the remaining rice mixture, salsa verde and remaining cheese. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Broil for a few minutes until cheese browns - watch carefully. Serve with sour cream and cilantro and enjoy!


This yummy meal is from The Pioneer Woman. The original recipe makes enough to feed a small army, so I fiddled with the amounts to ensure it would fit in my pan! :-)

Edited to add -
After making this many, many times over the years, I have changed the recipe to suit the taste of my family.  This is how I make this wonderful recipe now, our way, and we enjoy it even more!

Mexican Lasagna Our Way

1/4 cup butter
1/2 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
1 can black beans
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika

1 small can of salsa verde (I use the kind found in the International Foods section of the store, not the salsa verde found with the salsa/picante sauces - it's in a can instead of a jar, cheaper, and better)
16 fresh flour tortillas
1 box Uncle Ben's Mexican Fiesta rice, prepared according to package directions
2 packages Mexican blend shredded cheese, 8 ounces each
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can corn
sour cream
cilantro

Melt butter in saucepan and sauté onion and garlic in butter until soft. Add beans and seasonings to the pan, stir to combine and set aside.  In a large pyrex casserole pour half the salsa verde. Lay 4 tortillas in the pan, they will overlap some.  Spread prepared rice over tortillas and top with the 1/2 of one package of cheese. Layer 4 more tortillas.  Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas and then spread bean mixture over sauce and top with the rest of the first package of cheese.  Layer 4 more tortillas.  Spread corn over tortillas and top with  1/2 of the second package of cheese.  Layer the last 4 tortillas.  Spread the rest of the salsa verde over the tortillas and top with the last of the cheese.  Bake uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is starting to brown.  Serve with sour cream and cilantro and enjoy!

3 comments:

Michele said...

Sounds delicious! I'll have to give this one a try.

Renee said...

Thanks for posting the modified amounts - I love PW and wanted to try this but knew I'd have to scale it down a bit.

And if you haven't tried her apple dumplings, please do. I don't even like apple dumplings normally and I love them!

Mrs. H. said...

Renee,
I have an apple crisp planned for our Saturday dessert, but I had seen the apple dumplings at PW and thought they looked really good. And now that you reminded me about them, I think I just might change my menu. :-) Thanks!
Hope you enjoy the Mexican Lasagna - my whole family loved it.