Crowd Pleaser, Easy Freezer: Mexican Lasagna
Life is hard; food doesn't have to be #117 [vol4, 1.4]
This Mexican Lasagna is so easy to make that a teenage boy can do it! It’s a crowd pleaser and very flexible. My teen made it as a fundraiser and customers gave rave reviews.
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef or rotisserie chicken (can omit if your people wouldn’t revolt with a vegetarian main dish!)
taco spices (chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, sea salt)
onion + garlic (optional, but adds flavor)
red onion rings for garnish
3 cans black beans, rinsed & drained (or 1 lb dried then cooked – see end of post for how to use InstantPot to make the beans)
28 oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained (substitute Rotel or salsa)
1 bunch fresh cilantro
2 medium jalapeños, seeds & veins (white insides) removed
bag of frozen corn, look for organic (can omit corn completely)
1 pound or more shredded cheese
package of corn tortillas (I used 27.5 oz pkg)
sour cream, for garnish
Instructions
Brown the beef, season as making tacos. I use about 2T chili powder, 1 T cumin, 1t smoked paprika, 1+/- T salt. Always taste as you go along. If you’re not sure, start small and build up amounts. I like to use a fresh onion and several cloves of garlic – these are great immune boosters and inexpensive so I use them liberally when cooking. But onion and garlic powder are OK, too. Taste and adjust as your taste buds direct.
In a large bowl, pour the rinsed and drained black beans. Add a large can of diced tomatoes. I save the tomato juice for making Spanish Rice. I used this InstantPot recipe, with a few tweaks…omit bullion cubes, they usually have MSG. Add 1-2t sea salt instead.
Rinse and shake excess water from the bunch of cilantro. Chop all except bottom inch(es) of the stems, which you can discard. The stem of cilantro is totally edible, unless they’re really woody or thick.
Don’t be afraid of the jalapeño. Here’s how to chop it without burning your hands. Or substitute salsa or Rotel for tomatoes and jalapeño.
Mix all the above together. Taste a spoonful. Need more salt? Probably so.
Yield: 2 pans 9×13 or 3 pans of 8×8
Assembly
In a 9×13 pan, layer corn tortillas. The amount is up to you. I usually do a thickness of two tortillas and have to halve or quarter them to get them to fit in the pan.
If using a 9×13 pan, layer about 3 cups of the mixture of beef and beans. Sprinkle a good layer of cheese on top. Layer again the corn tortillas, beef/beans and finally more cheese. Garnish with half moons of red onion, as many or few as you like.
Bake at 350*, covered, for about 30 minutes. Then remove foil and bake until warm through and cheese is completely melted. Serve with generous amounts of full-fat sour cream.
Notes
– This can be easily halved, doubled, tripled or quadrupled.
– If using rotisserie chicken instead of beef, be sure to add more spices or jalapeño. Otherwise this will be bland.
- Substitute your fav salsa or Rotel for tomatoes and jalapeño.
- You could add a can of drained sweet corn, or a bag of frozen corn.
– Freeze the innards in a zip-top bag and assemble before eating. Or, if you have the freezer space: assemble, cover with foil, and bake just before serving.
Flavorful Dry Beans in InstantPot
Rinse and soak 2 pounds of dried black beans overnight (or 6 hours minimum). In the morning, heat a bit of avocado oil in the IP using the sauté function. Bacon is good here, too. Once the oil is shimmery, pour in 1-2T cumin seeds. Then a chopped onion and/or chopped garlic. If using ground cumin, sauté onion before adding ground spices. When the onion is translucent, add the drained beans, and fill with water at least an inch above the beans. Add 1T sea salt, a generous dash of cayenne, and a bay leaf. Lock the top and set for 6 minutes. Natural release the pressure. When cool enough to handle, drain the beans and use in the above recipe. Three cans of beans is about one pound of dried beans. Drain and freeze remaining beans.
Dark Circles Under Eyes?
If you struggle with dark circles under your eyes, you may have tried in vain using a lighter concealer only to achieve blue-gray circles.
Think about this: if I’m wearing a white shirt, black underclothes peek through. However if I wear underclothes closer to my actual skin tone, they don’t show.
So what IF you tried a darker concealer (instead of lighter) to bring the dark circles closer to the actual color of your skin? I’m not saying pick chocolate brown concealer if your skin tone is pale. Maybe try a concealer a shade darker than what you have been using.
While we’re at it, may I recommend Beautycounter’s 20 shades of award winning concealer? They have a 60-day, no questions asked return policy that’s as easy as printing a shipping label.
Currently Reading
Emotionally Healthy Discipleship: Moving from Shallow Christianity to Deep Transformation by Peter Scazzero
My husband is reading this with the pastoral staff at church and kept talking about it so I had to get a copy. I’ve read a couple of the Scazzeroes books and knew it would be good. This book is a conglomeration of a lifetime of work. I’ve been reading a bit each morning.
Kitchen Reno Update
Painted this week. Today we hope to start flooring. Then there’s a 2 week lull until cabinets can be installed.
Life is hard, food doesn’t have to be.
Julie
Love this recipe idea. We make nachos fairly often but there’s always the guilt with corn chips, plus that can’t be prepped in advance. I love that this can be assembled in the freezer and kept waiting for a rainy night when I need delicious food. Thanks!