Mexican Lasagna

When Winter rolls around, all I feel like eating is comforting casseroles and warming dishes. Now, I know that after the sweet treats and decadent meals of the Holiday season, many people tend to look for low-fat, healthy salad recipes but with three kids to feed, salad ain't cuttin' it around here! You can serve this fantastic lasagna with a side salad though, you know, to lighten the guilt factor. This dish was such a hit, we all looked forward to having it for lunch the next day, which is saying a lot! I have a feeling this is one of those recipes that will be on permanent rotation on my meal plans!


Mexican Lasagna

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-28 oz can of diced tomatoes (don't drain it)
1 packet of taco spices (I use the low salt kind)
1 to 2 tsp Chipotle chili powder
1-12 oz can of corn kernels, drained (or use frozen)
1-19 oz can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp cornstarch (optional)
9 large flour tortillas
2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese, grated (or TexMex blend, or Monterey Jack)

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish; set aside.

In a dutch oven, brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain off all fat and transfer to a heat proof bowl. In the same dutch oven, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil and sauté bell pepper, onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Put the ground beef back in the pot and also add the tomatoes, taco spices and chili powder. Mix well then add the corn and the red kidney beans and mix again. Let simmer for a few minutes. If you find that your "chili" is a bit watery, make a slurry of a tbsp of cornstarch with some cold water and add it to the pot. Let it simmer a little and it should thicken up enough not to water down your lasagna.

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Ladle a little bit of chili on the bottom of your prepared baking dish. Cover with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping them to fit the dish. Ladle a third of your chili over the tortillas, sprinkle with a third of the cheese and cover with 3 more tortillas. Layer the ingredients that way, ending with the cheese on top of the casserole.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the cheese is nicely browned. To further brown the cheese, broil the casserole for about 1 minute. Let the casserole stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream, chopped green onions and a salad.

Enjoying Dinner

Enjoying dinner with kids all depends on how they decide to react to what you put in their plate. One day they’ll eat whatever you put in front of them, without saying a word. The next they’ll be outraged because, horror, you put onions in your pasta sauce! Or “Mom! You put pepper in here, I can SEE the black flecks!”, and so on.

When I decided the other day, inspired by Ricardo yet again, to make a fish lasagna, I wasn’t sure how they’d react. I made it anyway, because, hey, I’m the Mom and I decide what’s for dinner, most the time anyway. I served it to my toughest critics and you know what? They ate it, without a word, they even liked it! So dinner was enjoyed by all and I have to say this lasagna was a welcome change from the usual pasta dish. Cooking the fish inside the pasta is a wonderful idea as it stays moist and tender. And the tomato and cheese sauces didn’t overpower the fish as I had thought it might.

All in all, this was a great dish and I’ll surely make it again. How will the critics react next time? You never know!

Pangasius Lasagna

I used Pangasius for this dish but you could use Tilapia or any other white fish for that matter. Also, I made a cheesy béchamel sauce but you could use cottage cheese or ricotta or even crème fraîche, just as long as you have something creamy in between layers of pasta. If you want to make this even quicker, you can use store bought tomato sauce instead of making your own.

Ingredients
For the tomato sauce:
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 ribs of celery chopped
1-28 oz can of crushed Roma tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

For the cheese sauce:
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and Gruyère, but anything would do)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Lasagna:
12 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
4 Pangasius filets, about 1 ½ pounds
Tomato sauce
Cheese sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
For the tomato sauce:
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil. Sauté onions, garlic and celery until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat for ½ hour to 1 hour. Set aside.

For the cheese sauce:
In a large saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, stir with a whisk and cook for about 1 minute. Add milk and stir constantly until sauce thickens. Remove from heat, add cheese, salt and pepper, and stir until melted. Set aside.

For the lasagna:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Take out a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish. Lay 4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce, then add more tomato sauce, a layer of cheese sauce and a little mozzarella. Lay 4 more noodles, tomato sauce, the fish filets, a little more tomato sauce, cheese sauce and mozzarella. Lay the last 4 noodles on top of that, the rest of the tomato sauce, the rest of the cheese sauce and cover with mozzarella. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the top of the lasagna is golden brown. If it doesn’t get brown enough put it under the broiler for a few minutes, that should do the trick. Make sure to let the lasagna rest for at least 15 minutes before serving as it will be very hard to cut into squares strait out of the oven. Serve with a nice green salad.