Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced (I used the stuff from a jar, featured at the end of this crabmeat post)

2 cups salsa

1 can (16 oz) refried beans

1 can 15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce (I stared and stared at the shelves at the store till I finally found enchilada sauce!)

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies

1 envelope taco seasoning

1/4 tsp. pepper

6 flour tortillas

3 cups (12 oz) shredded mexican cheese blend, divided (I unded up using a bit more, maybe 4 cups or so)

2 cups broken tortilla chips

Sour cream, sliced ripe olives, guacomole, and chopped tomatoes, optional

In a large skillet, cook beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in salsa, beans, enchilada sauce, chilies, taco seasoning, and pepper; heat through. Here’s a picture before it got stirred. The hamburger is almost covered, but you should be able to see all the different ingredients so far, except the onion and garlic that’s already fried w\ the hamburger.

mex-lasagna1.

And here it is all mixed together. Looked like a tremendous amount of meat mixture for only 6 tortillas!

mex-lasagna2.

mex-lasagna3.  Spread 1 cup sauce in a greased 9×13 baking pan. Huh? Sauce? What sauce? There was no sauce in the ingredient list that doesn’t get mixed in and it calls the meat stuff ‘meat mixture’. But, I assumed it meant the meat mixture for the sauce anyway.

mex-lasagna4.  Layer with 2 tortillas,

mex-lasagna5.  a third of the meat mixture,

and 1 cup of cheese.

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Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and meat mixture. The pan will be FULL.

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Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

mex-lasagna9.

Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with tortilla chips. Bake 10-15 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. I always like when recipes say that… gives me time to take pictures.

mex-lasagna10.

Garnish with sour cream, olives, guacamole, and tomatoes if desired. Yield: 12 servings.