Saturday, February 25, 2012

Enchilasagna

If that is too much of a tongue-twister for you, "Tex-Mex Lasagna" is another formidable title.

It's new recipe time! I was looking for ideas for meals last week when I came across a Cooking Light Recipe for Tex-Mex Lasagna. It sounded good, black beans, salsa, mexican cheese... but upon further inspection I saw that it called for regular lasagna noodles. For some reason I didn't feel like it meshed well with the recipe. After scrounging through other recipes of tortilla casseroles and the like I came up with this hybrid.

Unlike regular lasagna, I don't feel the need for a nap afterwards. In fact, I feel like I can do just about anything. If you're bored with regular lasagna or looking to try something new, give this recipe a go.

Enchilasgna (Makes 12 servings)

What You Need:

2 cups of pulled or chopped cooked chicken (pulled apart or cut into pieces (I used meat from baked, skinless chicken legs)
1 can of mexican diced tomatoes
1 can of green chiles
1 1/2 cups of yellow corn
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed.
1 cup of chopped onion
1 tablespoon of chili seasoning
1 cup of salsa
2 cups of low-fat mexican cheese
18 corn tortillas
Light sour cream (optional)
Green onions, thinly sliced (optional)

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the chicken, diced tomatoes, green chiles, corn, black beans, chopped onion, and chili seasoning in a large bowl. Line a 9x 13 pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay down one layer (about 6) tortillas on the bottom. Top with half of the mixture. Cover with 1/2 cup of the cheese. Lay down another layer of tortillas and repeat with the rest of mixture and 1/2 cup of cheese. Lay down the last layer of tortillas and cover with 1 cup of salsa and 1 cup of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil after 35 minutes and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes. If you dig in immediately, your dinner look more like earthquake rubble than a layered masterpiece. In that case you can call it "Pile O' Tex-Mex."

If your little heart desires, top with sour cream and green onions.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 289 cal.
Fat: 7 grams
Saturated Fat: 2.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 43 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Sugars: 6 grams
Protein: 26 grams
Vitamin A: 7%
Vitamin C: 18%
Calcium: 29%
Iron: 15%