Mexican Lasagna

This recipe brings back old memories for me. The first time I had this lasagna was when I was 18 years old working as a teller at Regions Bank in college. The head teller at the branch on Dauphin Island Parkway, Mary Jo, would make this for us on special occasions. We had a little oven in the break room that got lots of action! The Curry Chicken was one of the dishes she would make us too! I love how simple this is, and it is great for company. Its a great way to stretch a buck on the ground beef. It only takes 1 pound of ground meat, but could easily feed 6 people. We had my sister-in-law and her girls over last Tuesday for dinner and she makes a great lasagna. So, I thought I'd put a new spin on lasagna and make this for her! She loved it. We served it with some leftover Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf and were full and happy :) The Apple Dumplings I had planned for dessert got pushed to later in the week because we were just too full! Oh, and don't store your tortillas in the pantry next to Cinnamon Raisin Bagels. We got little bits of cinnamon taste throughout the lasagna because the tortillas smelled like cinnamon!



**Guys- don't laugh. I remembered the lasagna being creamier than it turned out. No big deal, it was still good. Well, when I was retyping the recipe, I realized I left out the Cream of Chicken soup!! I am going to make it again and do it right. It was still good, but would have been just like I remembered had I put the soup in. Another DUH moment!!

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, mined
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can Rotel
1 can Ranch Style Beans
1 can Cream of Chicken soup :)
12 (6-inch) fajita size tortillas
3 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain off excess fat. Add onion and garlic and cook 2-4 minutes until the onion softens. Add taco seasoning, Rotel, Ranch Style beans, and cream of chicken soup.

Spray a 9 X 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Tear tortillas into large chunks and set aside. Spoon about 1/2 cup of meat sauce on the bottom of prepared baking dish. Line the dish with 1/2 of the tortillas, 1/2 of the meat sauce and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat the layers ending with the shredded cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.




Enjoy!



(adapted from Mary Jo Brierly)