Mexican Lasagna

It feel like International week in the Feiner household this week.  Last night it was Chinese Food, tonight Mexican food.  I purchased Eve Longoria's new cookbook, Eva's Kitchen and was thumbing through it last night and saw the recipe for Mexican Lasagna.  I guess after coming back from Florida, and reminiscing about the signs for Pepe's South of the Border, put me in a Mexican food kind of mood. I made some homemade guacamole, and bingo...

Of course, I never follow a recipe as written, so I adapted it. I didn't see any sense in making it in two 8-inch pans so I made one large casserole.  I didn't get a chance to talk step by step pictures tonight because my niece Danielle had night classes and I had to get dinner on the table in less than an hour.

The recipe, with my changes is below.  It is so fast any easy to do.  If you can brown chopped meat, your meal is done.  Enjoy, I know we did...

Mexican Lasagna – adapted from a recipe by Eva Longoria

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2½ pounds of ground beef

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 cup Chicken Broth (I used College Inn)

1 package (17.5 ounce size) 10 Flour Tortillas (I used Mission Brand Soft Taco and Burrito Size)

1 jar (24 ounces) Tostitos Chunky Salsa, mild (if you like it hotter, go for it), divided

2-3 (8 ounce) bags of Shredded Mexican Cheese

1 (8 ounce) bag Sharp White Cheddar, Shredded

2 cups Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1 (16 ounce container) sour cream

1-2 (4.5 ounce) cans of Old El Paso Chopped Green Chiles (I used 1 can)

½ - ¾ cup Half and Half

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a disposable aluminum 4-inch deep, 13 x 9- inch roasting pan with PAM.

In a small bowl, mix the Half and Half with about 1 cup of the salsa and set aside .

Set aside about 2 cups of the shredded cheeses, I used about 1 cup of the Mexican cheese and ½ cup each of the Cheddar and Monterey Jack.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the ground beef, and break it into small pieces with a large fork or spoon.  Cook until it is browned but not crispy; season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain and set aside.

Put the chicken broth into a shallow bowl (I used a disposable aluminum 2-inch deep lasagna pan. Let them sit in the chicken broth for about 5 minutes.  You want them to be softened but not mushy.

Place two tortilla shells into the bottom of the roasting pan.  They may overlap a little in the middle, don’t worry about this.  You will only use 8 of the 10 shells for layers so you can rip the other two apart to fill in any gaps that you may see.

Spread about 3-4 tablespoons of the sour cream on top of the tortillas. Spoon about one third of the can on top of the sour cream (2/3 of the can if you are using 2 cans)

Divide the meat into thirds, and sprinkle one third of the browned meat on top of the chilies.  Spoon about 1/3 of the remaining salsa over the meat. Sprinkle 1/3 of the remaining Cheddar, Mexican Cheese, and Monterey Jack on top of the salsa.

Place another two tortillas on top, and repeat the process two more times; filling in any spaces with pieces from the two extra tortillas (don’t forget to save a few extra pieces for the final layer.  Place the last two tortillas on the top, fill in any spaces.  Pour the Half and Half and Salsa mixture over the top. 

Top with the two cups of cheese that you set aside.

Spray a large piece of aluminum foil with PAM; set aside. 

Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes. The cheese should start to turn brown. Cover with foil,  and continue baking another 15-30 minutes until the casserole is bubbling and beautifully golden brown. Serve hot.

I served it with homemade Guacamole and chips.

Note: If you like more cheese, use more.

This is so easy to do and would be great if you had to bring a dish to a party or buffet.