Monday, April 19, 2010

Fiesta Lasagna

















This is a fun spin on lasagna.  Some of my family prefer this version of lasagna to the Italian version.  I have adapted this recipe from a Taste of Home Magazine from December and January 2008.  I make it with corn tortillas rather than noodles and add baked tortilla strips to the top.

Fiesta Lasagna Recipe:

1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans -- Fat-free is fine.
1 can (15-1/2 ounce) mild chili beans
1 can (14-1/2 ounce) Mexican stewed tomatoes, drained
1 cup salsa -- I use Pace mild.
1 can (4 ounce) chopped green chiles
1 envelope reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1-2 cloves of garlic
1-1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1-1/4 cups shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup small-curd cottage cheese
1-1/4 cups sour cream, divided
18 small sized corn tortillas
2-4 corn tortillas for topping (see below)

Baked Tortilla Strips:
Make baked tortilla strips first.  Cut 3-4 corn tortillas in strips. Dredge in slight amount of olive oil and sprinkle scant amount of salt on strips. Bake in 350 degree oven, turning every 3-4 minutes, for 10-15 minutes.

Fiesta Lasagna Recipe:
In a Dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and drain.  Stir in the beans, tomatoes, salsa, chiles, and seasonings.  In a bowl, combine the Monterey Jack and Mozzarella cheese and set aside 1-1/2 cups of cheese mixture.  Stir cottage cheese and 3/4 cups sour cream into remaining cheese mixture.  In bottom of a greased 13 x 9 pan place 6 corn tortillas:  three whole tortillas in the center.  Then halve 3 corn tortillas and place 3 halves on the left side of the center tortillas and three halves on the right side of the center tortillas.  Layer with a third of the cottage cheese and sour cream mixture and meat and bean sauce.  Repeat layers of tortillas, meat and bean mixture, and cottage and cream cheese mixture two more times.  The dish will be full and heavy!  Bake covered at 350 degrees for one hour.  Uncover and then spread with remaining sour cream.  Sprinkle with reserved cheese and place tortilla strips on top and bake 10-12 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.  Serves 12.














                                                                        
I am posting the Fiesta Lasagna Recipe with the following:

7 comments:

Jo said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on the Ginger Lime marinade. I use olive oil in most of my recipes, and forgot to chg that in the recipe.....

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Hi Joni! What a delightful blog you have here! I have perused many posts and loved each one!

Thank you for stopping by my place and leaving your comment!

Kindly, ldh

the country cook said...

This looks wonderful! You've got me hungry...I love the change from noodles to corn tortillas.

www.delightfulcountrycookin.com

Brenda said...

This looks SO delicious. Great pictures too

annies home said...

my kids love lasagna and mexican food I am sure they would love this

Sarah @ Dream In Domestic said...

Oh, dear! This looks amazing! I think I will have to make this for my boyfriend some time because he loves Mexican food. I think he's die for this fun spin on the Italian classic! Thanks for the recipe!

Jackie said...

I am going to the store to get the
ingredients today. Yum. I had one
like it years ago and always wanted
to make it. Your pictures make me
hungry.

Engageya