Monday, January 14, 2008

Enchilada Lasagna

1 1/2-2 pounds ground meat (or equivalent in shredded chicken, or textured tofu, sauteed mushrooms would work too)
18 soft corn tortillas, taco size (the small ones)
1 Large can (~28oz) Enchilada Sauce (I like Las Palmas red (good for kids, mild flavor) or green)
3 cups shredded cheese (Mexican blend works well, or you can use one smaller bag cheddar, one monterey jack)
1/4-1/2 red onion, chopped (optional)

Seasonings for the meat:
Use either a package of taco seasoning or

1/4 Cup Salsa (whatever you have in the fridge)
Hot sauce to taste (I like Tapatio, and use about 5 hearty shakes of the bottle)
Salt (shake a light covering over the pan)
Pepper (grind until you're happy)
Crushed/chopped garlic (optional, 1-2 cloves)
1/4-1/2 Cup water to dissolve salsa, etc. into the pan and meat

If you are going to cook chicken (2-3 large breasts or equivalent in dark/light meat) and then shred, add
1 can tomato sauce
and omit the water (don't use taco seasoning)

Brown/cook the meat, draining any excess liquid.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease or PAM the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish.

Pour a bit of the enchilada sauce (ES) in the bottom to cover lightly.

Layer, overlapping, six tortillas into the bottom of the pan.
Apply a layer of meat for even coverage.
Top with an even layer of cheese to cover. (Insert sprinkling of onions here, if desired -- not so great with kids.)

Add six more tortillas, and cover with some of the ES, spreading out with the back of a large spoon (or spatula, whatevs).
Repeat meat and cheese layer.

Top with final six tortillas and remainder of enchilada sauce. Cover with a light layer of cheese (enough that it doesn't burn in the oven, but not so much that it's thick and goopy -- you want to see the edges of the tortillas and some sauce along the outside edges of the pan).

Bake for about 20 minutes (heated through) and the the dish is bubbling and cheese is melted.

Leftover meat and cheese can be used for taco night, burritos, etc.

You can do a version with black or pinto beans as part of the layers, but be careful that the layers don't get too thick, or you will overfill the pan.

Serve with [black beans and corn] Jennifer's Black Beans and Green Chiles and Mexican rice on the side.

Serves 6-12, depending on hunger, age/sex of guests, and pie slice size.

Let's all give VDog a hand for that tasty recipe! *a roar of applause from the crowd is heard*

6 comments:

MC said...

And to think, I've been thinking about a different Mexitalian fusion of my own... Beanless Chili on a bed of Creamy Linguine.

Gen said...

This sounds like something my family would love. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to try this out...I love Mexican food, and especially anything with corn tortillas instead of flour.

I had no idea you had a cooking site!

Anonymous said...

I didn't know you had a cooking site! I love to cook AND I can cook quite a few Authentic Mexican dishes from scratch (although I'm not doing much of that while twin-pregnant), so if you're ever looking for a particular kind of recipe let me know.

A Mom Two Boys said...

Hello?! How did I NOT know you had this cooking blog? Sheesh, I must live under a rock. Oh, lookee there, ocdcontrolfreak feels the same way. At least it's not just me.

Two of my favorite things, enchiladas and lasagna. MMMmmmm...

Mom Of 3 said...

thanks for visiting my blog. So I could find yours. I love great recipes and am always looking for one.