South of the Border Lasagna

Last night, I had a meeting after work so I left dinner plans up to Chris. He is truly the master of our kitchen...yes, I admit it! When I came home, our house was full of yummy smells and I couldn't wait to dig in to his Mexican creation. He found a recipe at AllRecipes.com for a Burrito Pie. It had a few ingredients that weren't for us, so he tweaked it quite a bit and came up with this...

South of the Border Lasagna

1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers (Rotel)
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 (16 ounce) can black beans
1 (16 ounce) can of Mexican Rice
12 (8 inch) flour tortillas
9 ounces shredded Colby cheese or favorite Mexican style blend

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic for five minutes. Mix in the green chile peppers, tomatoes with green chile peppers, beans, and rice. Stir mixture thoroughly, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Spread a thin layer of the bean mixture in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish. Cover with a layer of tortillas followed by more meat mixture, then a layer of cheese. Repeat tortilla, meat, cheese pattern until all the tortillas are used, topping off with a layer of meat mixture and cheese.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.

He served over a bed of chopped lettuce and with a dollup of sour cream (on his, I passed).

This was way tastier than I could have imagined! It wasn't too spicy or cheesy...perfect balance! Plus, he pointed out that all the ingredients cost about $15 and it actually baked enough for an entire family. It was cost efficient, easy, vegetarian, and yummy...all my favorite things!