Mexican Tortilla Lasagna

It has been a long time since I have found a recipe that my family enjoyed so much that I need to add it to my "favorites" recipe binder. I have a lot of recipes torn out of magazines, marked in books, bookmarked in my favorites on the computer that I know I will never get around to trying all of them! I am glad I did get around to trying this recipe for Mexican Tortilla Lasagna. I've seen a number of recipes similar to this, but for some reason this particular recipe turned out great! A bonus is that it can be made ahead of time and either put in the freezer or refrigerator to bake when you are ready (in fact, the recipe makes two pans of lasagna...one for now and one for later)!!

Mexican Tortilla Lasagna (Woman's Day magazine-October 2010)
Makes 2, 6 servings each
2 lb lean ground beef
2 large poblanochili peppers, seeded and diced (2 cups)*
3 Tbls chili powder
2 cans (14.5 oz each) fire-roasted diced tomatoes with garlic*
1 can (15 oz) corn kernels, drained
1 can (10 oz) mild enchilada sauce
1 cup chopped cilantro**
8 burrito-size flour tortillas
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat two 8 to 9-in square or round baking dishes with cooking spray. Put beef and peppers in a deep 12-in nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, breaking up chunks of meat with a wooden spoon, 9 minutes or until beef is browned and peppers are crisp-tender. Stir in chili powder, cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, corn and enchilada sauce; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

To assemble each lasagna: Line bottom of each baking dish with 1 tortilla (it may come up the sides of the dish a bit). Top each with a rounded cup of meat mixture, then 1/4 cup of the cheese. Repeat layers 3 times. Cover lasagna you are baking now with nonstick foil. Bake 20 minutes. Uncover lasagna and bake 10 minutes more or until heated through. Remove from oven; cool 5 minutes before cutting.

Meanwhile, cover second lasagna with plastic wrap, then wrap tightly with nonstick foil. Freeze up to 2 months. (When ready to reheat: One to two days before serving, place frozen lasagna in refrigerator so it has time to thaw. Remove plastic wrap; re-cover with the foil. Bake 50 minutes; uncover and bake 10 minutes more until heated through.)

*I substituted the poblano peppers and fire-roasted tomatoes with can of Rotel.
**I omitted the cilantro.

Homemade Tortillas and Pork Tacos

I've been going through all my foodie magazines recently (which have stacked up ridiculously high!) to pick out recipes that I see myself trying within the next two months. If it doesn't look like something that's going to be tried within the next couple of months the recipe gets looked over and eventually tossed in the recycling bin. Pre-Ally, I would save recipes for the "right" occasion; I've since learned a new recipe will pop up between now and then and I will have forgotten all about the once saved recipe. I've also decided that I am going to be a lot more choosy in the recipes I save in my personal recipe collection...it needs to be REALLY good and something that I will look forward to making again. Well, this evening I found one of those recipes....Homemade Tortillas! I'm not sure what took me so long to make tortilla shells, other than it's easy just to pick them up at the store and pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before filling with taco fixings. Now that I've made HOMEMADE tortilla shells, I don't know that I can go back to the store bought version (unless I'm really in a rush to get dinner done quickly!). These homemade shells are thicker than the store-bought variety, but they taste SO much better....they are light and fluffy and not chewy....and they are also great with a little melted butter brushed on top with some cinnamon and sugar sprinkled over the butter...mmmm....do the work once and end up with dinner and dessert! Okay, enough "talk" on to the recipe.....

Homemade Tortillas (ToH June/July 2010)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
3 Tbls olive oil

Combine flour and salt in large bowl. Stir in water and olive oil. (You will end up with an extremely sticky batter.) Turn onto a floured surface; knead 5-6 times. Divide dough into 8 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 7-in circle. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook tortillas over medium heat for 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Keep warm. Makes 8 tortillas - 3WWpts.

We used a version of the following recipe as the meat filling for the tortillas...and it was good as well!

Pork Tacos (Women's Day)
2 tsp oil
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1-in cubes
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup salsa verde (green salsa)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (which we omitted....not cilantro fans)
8 tortilla shells
1 cup shredded lettuce
Garnish: diced tomatoes and avocado (optional)

Heat oil in 12-in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cumin; cook until golden brown on all sides about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir salsa into skillet; cook 1 minute or until heated through. Stir in cilantro. Using two forks, pierce and shred cubes of pork. Fill warm tortillas with pork mixture, then add lettuce. Serves 4 - 4WWpts (w/out tortilla shell).

Turkey Fajitas

This is a great recipe to try if you have leftover turkey breast. I recently cooked a turkey breast in my crock pot and froze the leftovers. This dish came together super quick with already having the cooked turkey. Rather than marinating the meat as the recipe suggests, I just added a splash of lime juice and soy sauce to the onion/pepper mixture and threw in the turkey to get hot. I then added some lime juice to sour cream for an added kick. Yum!


Turkey Fajitas
1/2 lb turkey breast cutlets
2 Tbls low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbls fresh lime juice
1 Tbls water
2 tsps minced garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbls chopped avocado
1 Tbls tomatillo salsa
1 Tbls sour cream
1 tsp minced onion
3/4 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp minced jalapeno pepper
1 cup thinly sliced sweet red pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
2 (8-inch) flour tortillas


Cut turkey into strips; place in a small shallow dish. Combine soy sauce and next 6 ingredients; pour over turkey. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours. Place avocado in a small bowl and mash; stir in salsa and next 4 ingredients. Set aside. Remove turkey from marinade, discarding marinade. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add turkey; saute' 2 minutes. Add red pepper and onion; saute' 6 minutes or until turkey is done and vegetables are tender. Spoon mixture evenly down centers of tortillas. Roll up tortillas, folding in sides. Serve with avocado sauce. Serves 2.

Family-Size Baked Burrito

This was a recipe I came across that not only sounded good, but also included ingredients that I had on hand and I knew would be something easy to throw together on an evening when I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. My husband and I both enjoyed this meal, but agreed that if I make it again, either more bean dip needs to be added or I could just leave it out, as we didn't really taste the beans.

Family-Size Baked Burrito
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (I omitted)
3 cups diced cooked chicken (could substitute turkey)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 lime
3/4 cup thick and chunky salsa
1 Tbls southwest seasoning mix
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided
4 burrito-size flour tortillas
1 (9 oz) can bean dip
Assorted toppings such as lettuce, olives, avocado

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix diced chicken, chopped onion, juice from lime, salsa, southwest seasoning and garlic and medium bowl. Microwave for 3-4 minutes until hot, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Arrange tortillas in an overlapping circular pattern on round cookie pan. (Tortillas will extend off edge of baking sheet by 5 inches). Starting in center, spread bean dip over tortillas, forming a 10x10 inch square. Spoon chicken mixture evenly over bean dip. Fold edges of tortillas up over chicken mixture in an envelope pattern. Arrange 16 tomato slices in rows over top of burrito. Sprinkle remaining cheese over burrito, covering completely. Bake 18-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are browned. Cut into rectangles; serve with assorted toppings. Serves 8.

Using up taco leftovers

Tacos are frequently made in my household because they are quick, easy, and everyone enjoys them. Rather than using the leftovers from this past week for more tacos, I made them in to "Mexican Squares" for tonight's dinner. The only thing I needed to make for tonight's meal was cornbread. Everything else I had already cooked and was able just to reheat the ingredients.

Mexican Squares (adapted from Pampered Chef All the Best)
1 pkg corn bread muffin mix (plus ingredients to prepare bread)
1 can fat-free refried beans
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 Tbls southwest seasoning
1 can pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped
sliced tomatoes (optional)
shredded cheese
sour cream
leftover taco meat


Bake corn bread according to package directions in a 8x8 pan. In mixing bowl combine refried beans, garlic, and southwest seasoning. After removing corn bread from oven, spread the bean mixture over the top. Heat up the leftover taco meat, then spread over the bean mixture. Top with cheese, tomatoes, and black olives (I also topped with leftover black beans). Serve with sour cream or any other taco toppings you prefer.

A Mexican Wednesday dinner...

Pork Tacos
1 cup salsa verde (green salsa)
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 cups thick shreds cooked pork loin (from Pork with Mole Sauce recipe)
8 corn tortillas (heated according to package directions)
1 cup finely shredded lettuce
1 cup diced tomato

Mix salsa and cilantro in a microwave-safe bowl. Add pork; toss. Cover and microwave until hot. To make tacos, fill warmed tortillas with pork mixture, then add lettuce and tomato.

Per serving: 356 cal, 33 g pro, 30 g car, 4 g fiber, 11 g fat (4 sat), 84 mg chol, 362 mg sod

**Review: After just eating these tacos, I would leave half of the cilantro out of the recipe. The flavor of the cilantro overpowered the meat...should be called "Cilantro Tacos!"

Bean Quesadillas

1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

4 flour tortillas (6 inches)

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup chopped pepper

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

1/8 tsp hot pepper

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro

Mash beans until almost smooth; spread over two tortillas. Layer each with salsa, pepper, jalapeno, garlic, cheese, hot pepper sauce and cilantro. Top with remaining tortillas. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 305 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into four wedges. Makes 4 servings.

Review: I guess overall, I wasn't very pleased with tonight's dinner. The cilantro was too strong in both recipes, and the quesadillas just had way too much "stuff" in them. The salsa made them a little wet and I prefer "simple" quesadillas, with at most 4 ingredients; maybe you'll enjoy them though!

Enchilada Casserole

After graduating from college, I took a job at a bank in my hometown. My favorite things about that job were the people, and the pot-luck lunches we had frequently! The branch manager always made this Enchilada Casserole. It has since been made several times in my home (along with my previous co-workers, I'm sure!).

This picture does the dish no justice...it is much better than it looks!

Enchilada Casserole
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
salt and pepper
1 pkg taco seasoning
oil
8 flour or corn tortillas (I prefer flour)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 4 oz can green chilies
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese

Brown beef in skillet with salt and pepper, drain grease. Add taco seasoning mix and water to beef and simmer 5 minutes. Heat oil and cook tortillas until soft and limp, about 5-10 seconds per side. Drain on paper towel. Spoon 1/3 cup meat mixture in center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with small amount cheddar cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a greased 9x13 baking dish. After filling tortillas add enchilada sauce and chilies to remaining meat mixture. Spoon over tortillas. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Uncover; spread sour cream over tortillas and sprinkle with Monterey jack cheese. Return to oven to heat sour cream and melt cheese, approx. 5-10 minutes.