Mexican Lasagna

I haven't posted much lately, mainly because I just plain haven't cooked much lately. I was gone in California for my brother's wedding were we had some fantastic food, but I didn't make any of it. Then when we came back I was exhausted, so not much cooking for me until last weekend. I read this recipe for Mexican Lasagna on The Pioneer Woman Cooks but it was actually a recipe by her friend Ryan. It looked so delicious I made it the very next day. His recipe makes a huge amount since he is a caterer, so I cut it way down, and I'll share the smaller one with you.


Mexican Lasagna
From: Pastor Ryan via The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

Butter
1 1/2 - 2 cups unprepared rice
2 cups low sodium chicken broth/stock
2 tomatoes
1 onions
1-2 large cloves of garlic
1 lb lean ground beef
1 16oz. bags of mexican cheese blend
Flour Tortillas
1 can of corn (drained)
1 can of black Beans (not drained)
2 x 7 oz. jars of Salsa Verde
1 10 oz. jar of enchilada sauce
Taco seasoning (mine is Chili powder, Paprika, and Cumin)
Garnish: Sour cream, Cilantro, Avacado (optional)

Directions:

1. Begin by preparing Rice with Chicken Broth/Stock. Once prepared, salt to taste.

2. Chop up tomatoes, onions, and garlic as small as you prefer. Saute in a pan with a tablespoon or so of butter. (I saute'd the onions firs for a little bit before adding the tomatoes because I don't like crunchy onions) Add approx. 1 Tbs. chili powder, and 2 tsp. of both paprika and cumin (this is what it calls for, but this was a little spicy for us, so I might cut the chili powder down a bit next time) . Stir until nicely combined. Feel free to add beans if you like them…no need to drain.

3. Mix cooked rice together with tomato/onion/garlic mixture.

4. Brown the Ground Beef – add 1 Tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp paprika, and 2 tsp of cumin with a couple of ounces of water (again I would use a little less chili powder next time for less heat)

(***NOTE: I did steps 1, 2, & 4 at the same time to help speed up the process***)

5. Spread one container of salsa verde in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. (make sure it covers the entire bottom, this will help it not to stick to the pan)

6. Layer on tortillas covering salsa verde. Some overlapping is expected (I also Ripped apart my tortillas to make them fit a little better and fill in the holes)

7. Divide your rice mixture in half and spread it over the layer of tortillas.

8. Divide cheese in half and layer it on top of the rice layer. Approx. 8 oz. of cheese (I used a little less)

9. Add another layer of tortillas on top of your cheese layer.

10. Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas and spread it out evenly.

11. Add layer of browned ground beef.

12. Add corn on top of beef layer.

13. Add remaining amount of rice mixture on top of corn layer.

14. Add remaining jar of salsa verde on top of rice layer.

15. Add remaining cheese to the top - making sure to cover.

16. Sprinkle top with some taco seasoning or cayenne pepper (I left this out)

17. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes uncovered until cheese has melted and gotten crusty! Serve with toppings of your choice: Sour Cream, cilantro, avocado, salsa, etc.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!