Simple and Spicy Mexican Lasagna

I am a magazine collector. Well, I used to be. Before the internet became popular, I used to buy and keep any cooking magazine with a good looking recipe. My favorite cooking mag at the time was Taste of Home. It was to me the best out there. Taste of Home cooking magazine was mostly cover to cover recipes. There were no almost ads, almost no articles just recipes and photos, the author who submitted and the authors geographical location. I looked forward to either getting the catalog of recipes in the mail or finding a new special edition on the drug store magazine rack. Needless to say my magazine habit became out of control because as I said, I was a collector. I kept all of the magazines from Taste of Home and so many others. I know that up until last year I probably had a copy from the late 80’s. I may or may not have a copy from the mid 90’s still in my possession…. I’ve just checked. I still have it. (chuckle)

The is magazine was published in 1999. This is the photo that Taste of home shared of what was formerly named Fold Over Tortilla Bake.

From that same late 90’s Taste of Home magazine I have cemented one delicious recipe to memory. It was a Taste of Home Ground Beef Special Edition. That’s right, every single recipe in that book was ground beef based. So let me just state the obvious: THAT BOOK WAS MADE FOR ME. Ground beef recipes are almost always quick, easy and inexpensive and I love almost anything made with beef….. If you are not a beef lover or if you or a loved one has a beef allergy like my daughter, you can very easily just use ground turkey or over chicken if you choose. Which is what I learned to do 25 years ago.

Let me just say that in the beginning I was not a fan of ground turkey. Like I said I am a beef girl. I had to learn how to make ground turkey taste just as delicious as ground beef in recipes like meatloaf, spaghetti and this super delicious Mexican Lasagna I am going to share with you today.

This recipe is so easy to put together. Also, the ingredients and flavors are delicious all by themselves so when they are combined into this casserole it is nothing less than amazing. I am more than positive that you would agree.

The grocery list for Mexican Lasagna is short and simple. Begin by making a chili sauce.

Cream cheese and chopped chiles go inside the flour tortillas.

In the casserole dish layer half of the meat sauce, then the folded tortilla’s and the other half of the sauce. The cheese goes on at the very end of baking.

The finale. Top with shredded cheese and the remaining chopped chiles. Bake for 5 more minutes.

So let’s get into this recipe!

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb ground turkey

1 cup chopped onion

1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 ground black pepper

14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

Three – 10 ounce cans enchilada sauce

1 package 10 count flour tortillas (burrito size)

One – 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened

Two – 4 ounce cans chopped green chilies

One – eight ounce bag shredded colby-jack cheese blend

Instruction:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet cook ground turkey and onion until the ground turkey is no longer pink. Drain ground turkey mixture in a colander. Return meat and onions back to skillet; season with salt, pepper and cumin. Stir in the dice tomatoes and enchilada sauce bring to simmer.

On a plate or flat surface spread a thin layer of cream cheese all over each flour tortilla (need at least 6 to 7 tortillas). Using a small cereal spoon as a measure, top cream cheese layer with chopped chiles. Fold the tortillas into thirds and set aside.

Pour half of the meat sauce into a 9×13 rectangle casserole dish. Layer the folded tortillas on top of the meat sauce (over lapping of tortillas is fine). Top the remaining tortillas with the other half of meat sauce. Bake in oven covered with foil for 20-25 minutes. Remove casserole from oven and top with the shredded cheese. Sprinkle the remaining chopped chilies over the top of the casserole and bake in the oven uncovered for 5-7 more minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Cut and serve.

Enjoy!