Better than taco night?

We live in a house divided when it come to Mexican food.  I’ll be honest, its the kids vs. the adults. If it were possible to eat tacos or some version of tacos every single night, my kids would be thrilled.  My husband and I prefer a little more diversity in our meals and may have had one too many cheap taco dinners when we were young and broke.

So, we compromise.  I make various Mexican dishes, the kids eat them happily, and we ignore their grumbles when we have more, ahem, sophisticated fare.  (And by sophisticated fare, I mean, not tacos).

This dish, seems to be an exception to all of the rules.  It got 6 thumbs up and my husband even took the leftovers for lunch the next day.  I guess it’s hard to argue with anything that is covered in cheese.  (On a side note, writing this blog is making me acutely aware of my strong relationship with cheese, wondering if I should worry?)

A quick Public Service Announcement:

I am going to use this space to appeal to those who are still using taco seasoning out of a packet…it’s time.  The packets are cute, and easy, but they sneak all kinds of unnecessary ingredients that you and your family don’t need. BREAK UP WITH THE TACO PACKET! You can do it.  I can help! By making it yourself, you get to control how spicy it is and add or remove flavors on your own whim.  How liberating is that? If you google “Taco Seasoning Recipe” you will get a million listings. They are all about the same. I included the link to the one I use below. You won’t look back – trust me.

Back to me:

I tried two versions of this lasagna – one I toasted the corn tortillas and in the other I didn’t.  The one that I toasted had a little more “corny” flavor, but was kind of hard to cut so the final product was a little less attractive. My family voted for the untoasted version, but I must admit, I liked the flavor of the toasted tortilla.  I’m a little bit tempted to try it with tortilla chips – would that be wrong?

This recipe comes together very quickly and easily. If you’d like, you can make the meat ahead and then just assemble and bake when you are ready.  This would cut about 10 minutes off of your prep time. Feel free to improvise on the added ingredients and toppings.  My family is not generally a tomato or salsa family so I leave it off, but I suspect it would be delicious in here.  A few of us love anything they can slather sour cream on top of – no idea where they get this from (yes I do – it’s me!).  I’ve been buying the Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Sour Cream since I can’t do lactose very well and neither can half of my family. You can also use greek yogurt if you want to lighten it up a bit. Hopefully this will strike the balance in your house as well and please everyone.  Wishing you 6 thumbs up!

Gluten Free Mexican Lasagna

Prep time: 20
Cook time: 15
Serves 6 (4 if you are really hungry)

Ingredients

2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Shallot, Diced

3T Taco Seasoning

8oz. Chunky Salsa

1 15 oz. can Black Beans

1 cup Fresh or Frozen Corn Kernels

1½-2 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese

1 Package Gluten Free Corn Tortillas (Check the label, this was harder than I thought it would be)

Garnish:

Sour Cream

Fresh Cilantro

Lime

 

Instructions

1. Lightly grease a 9×11″ pan Preheat the oven to 425º
2. Heat a olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.
3. Add chopped shallots and sauté until translucent.
4. Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink.
5. Add the taco seasoning (I make my own using this Taco Seasoning recipe) and stir until evenly coated.  Set aside.
6. Add the salsa, ½ can of black beans, and  ½ cup of corn to the blender or food processor and pulse until it forms a thick sauce. If too thick, add water by the tablespoon until it reaches a thick consistency.
7. Spread some sauce in the pan and create a layer of corn tortillas (I sliced mine in half and placed them with the cut side out.
8. Next, layer half of the meat, top with half of the remaining black beans and corn and sprinkle with cheese and top with another layer of tortillas.
9. Repeat the last step.
10. Top with the remaining sauce and cheese.
11. Bake for 13-15 min until sauce bubbles on the sides and the cheese is melted and beginning to bubble.
12. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting into squares.
13. Top with a dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro, and a wedge of lime.

Notes

Recipe inspired by Simply Gluten Free