Mexican Lasagna

My brother's wife is a very good cook. She is also a very frugal cook. At a recent family gathering, we were talking about cooking & budgets, and when she got home, she emailed me a few of her favorite recipes.

Tonight I tried one of them, Mexican Lasagna. As usual, in addition to my family, there were two other teenagers here. It was a big hit with everyone!

So, I thought I'd share it with you.

Mexican Lasagna
1-2 # ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
6 flour tortillas
1 cup frozen corn
1 small jar salsa
Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack/Colby blend cheese

Brown ground beef, drain fat and add taco seasoning with a little water or beef broth. Stir in soup and black beans.

In 9x13 casserole dish, place 2 flour tortillas in bottom to line pan. Pour meat mixture over this. Top with 2 more flour tortillas and some shredded cheese.

Mix together corn and salsa. Pour over 2nd layer of flour tortillas. Top with 2 more flour tortillas and a nice layer of shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 mins.

Bits & Pieces

Interesting Substitution:

My 15 year old daughter, Shelbie, found a box of brownie mix in the pantry and asked if she could make it. I told her sorry, but we're out of oil. And she said "I can use mayonnaise!"

And I said, "WHAT! EWW! That's gross!"

Although I know perfectly well that mayonnaise is just oil & eggs....it just sounds nasty.

But I told her to go ahead and try it.....and guess what?
The brownies tasted just like any other brownies that had been made with oil!

So if you're ever out of oil, feel free to substitute mayo. I was also told sour cream works, and I know applesauce is also a good sub for oil.

Pears:
We have a pear tree in our back yard. I'm not a fan of eating plain pears, but over the weekend I made two pair dishes. First, I sliced some pears and put them in a baking dish. I poured melted butter over them and then sprinkled them with cinnamon and brown sugar. I cooked them for about an hour at 350, and they were absolutely delicious.

They were so good I was inspired to make a pear cobbler. I've never had one before, I don't think I've ever even heard of a pear cobbler, but again - it was delicious! I used my traditional cobbler recipe that I use for blackberry, blueberry, & peach cobblers. (I love cobblers!)

I have lots of pears still on the tree, so if you have any good pear recipes that you don't mind sharing with me, please do!

We have muscadine (a.k.a. scuppernong) grapes too....loads of them! I suppose I need to learn how to make jam......

Tuna Pie w/ Spinach

As I've grown up to be technically an adult, I have come to like many more vegetables than I did as a child. Part of that was just the growing up process, and part of it was learning that there are other ways to prepare them besides battered & fried.

But one vegetable that I have never learned to like, and never will, is broccoli. I just can't stand the trees. My kids like it, my husband likes it, but not me.

The only way I've ever been able to eat broccoli is in my Tuna Pie. I guess the other ingredients were just so yummy that it disguised the ick of broccoli. But I always wondered if it would taste good with spinach, which I LOVE. So tonight, I finally tried that for the first time.

And it was FANTASTIC!!

Here's the recipe again in case you want to try it. It's good stuff and perfect for Meatless Monday!

Tuna Pie
2 cans tuna in water, drained
1 cup shredded cheese
1 small onion, chopped
3 eggs
1 cup mayo
½ cup sour cream
1 box chopped broccoli *OR Spinach!!*, cooked per directions
2 pie shells, cooked per directions

Mix all ingredient except pie shells.
Pour half of the mixture into each pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes.