Mexican Lasagne

Serves 6-8

This is a fabulous recipe that is a terrific change of pace from Italian-style lasagne. Serve it with a side salad and you have a perfect meal.

Beef Mixture

2 large onions, diced

2 cloves minced garlic

1 ½ - 2 lbs ground beef, chicken or turkey

2 tbsp chili powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2 large green peppers, diced

Tomato Sauce

1 ½ cups salsa

14 oz can tomato sauce (in the same aisle as the tomato paste)

2 tsp cumin

6-8 medium soft flour tortillas (whole wheat works very well)

1 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, or Tex Mex blent

Oil, for frying

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13x9 inch lasagne pan.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, saute 1 onion and the garlic in a small amount of oil for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a large Dutch oven, saute the ground beef. Siphon off the juices into a measuring cup and set aside. Sprinkle the chili powder, salt and pepper over the beef and stir well to incorporate and toast the spices. Using a bulb baster siphon the beef juices (the fat will have floated to the top) into the beef mixture. Discard the fat. Add the onion-garlic mixture and the green peppers and cook another 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, saute the remaining onion in a small amount of oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the salsa, tomato sauce and cumin. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

Spread about ¾ cup tomato sauce evenly over the bottom of the pan. Cut tortillas in half and arrange over the sauce. Spread with ½ cup sour cream, followed by ½ the beef mixture and then ½ the tomato sauce.

Lay another layer of tortillas on top of the tomato sauce. Spread with sour cream and then the beef.

Top with a final layer of tortillas and press down lightly. Spread over the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Lightly grease one side of a sheet of aluminum foil long enough to cover the pan. Cover the lasagne greased side down. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.