Cheesy Mexican Lasagna
This was a learning recipe. By that I mean, I learned a valuable lesson about spice. Now I like mexican food as much as the next person. But I am not a big fan of spicy food. Food with a lot of heat, that is, not just flavor. I like flavor. It's my favorite thing to taste! So when I make recipes at home I tend to adjust the spices to suit my taste. And I did that to this recipe. The problem is.....I didn't do it enough. And, although this dish was very good, it was spicy. Enough that even my heat loving husband said it was spicy. So I cut the chili powder back in this recipe to my taste for next time, but please feel free to up the heat notch as much as your tongue desires or can handle, whichever comes first!
Ingredients: onion, flour tortillas, garlic, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, beef broth, cheddar cheese, montery jack cheese, ground beef, and stew beef. And as always, Salt and Pepper to taste.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I diced the onion and added it to a hot pan, and cooked it for 3-5 min. Then I added the ground beef, cooked for 3-5 min, and added the stew beef and did the same. Then I added the tomatoes, garlic, paste, seasonings and beef broth. I stirred well and let it simmer for 30-35 min.
While that was cooking down I shredded the cheeses.
When the sauce had cooked for about 45 min (because I have kids and they require lots of time, who'da thought that!) I pulled it off the heat and allowed it to cool for about 30 min. Then I started to layer. First some sauce on the bottom, then two flour tortillas, then sauce then cheese. Keep doing that till the sauce and cheese are your last layer. Then pop it in the oven for 20 min to melt the cheese. I turned the broiler after my timer went off and browned the cheese some.
While letting it cool awhile, I shredded the lettuce and diced the tomatoes. I served a big scoop on a plate and topped it with the veggies and a dollop of sour cream. It was pretty good, spicy, but good. The stew meat gave it a different texture then just ground beef as did the cold of the sour cream give good contrast to the warm gooey cheese. This was so easy and one recipe made so much I actually made two pans from one recipe. Which is wayyy more than my husband and I will eat. So I froze one pan and made the other. Good for one of those days when I don't feel like cooking. Do you have a mexican recipe that you like really well? Well, let me know and I will consider making it and posting my results here. Have a great day.
Cheesy Mexican Lasagna
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 pound ground beef
1 pound stew meat, diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
Salt and pepper
1 can tomato paste
1 can peeled and chopped tomatoes
3 cups beef stock
10 flour tortillas
2 cups grated Medium Cheddar cheese
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 9 by 2-inch square baking dish. In a large skillet, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the diced meat and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes and stock. Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and cool. Spoon a 1/2 cup of the chili mixture on the bottom of the prepared pan. Lay two tortillas on top of the chili mixture. Sprinkle the top of the tortillas with the Cheddar and Jack cheese. Repeat the layering process until all of the chili, tortillas and cheese are used. (The final layer should be cheese) Place the pan in the oven and bake until the cheese has melted, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving.