Make Ahead Mexican Lasagna For Two Recipes

MEXICAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• SOAK NOODLES: Place lasagna noodles in the bottom of a long pan. Pour hot tap water over the noodles until they are submerged. Let them soak while you prep the filling - at least 30 minutes. Agitate the noodles with your hands occasionally to prevent them from sticking together.
• PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a deep 9X13-inch pan; set aside. Whisk together the flour and all Meat Filling seasonings (through cayenne pepper); set aside.
• COOK BEEF: Brown beef and onions in a Dutch oven or very large skillet until almost cooked through. Sprinkle in flour/seasonings mixture and cook for two minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the tomato paste and garlic and cook for one minute.
• FILLING INGREDIENTS: Stir in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, green chiles, cocoa powder, sugar and cinnamon. Bring the sauce to a simmer and continue to simmer, stirring often, until thickened, 10-15 minutes. After the sauce has thickened, stir in beans, corn, olives and apple cider vinegar then remove from heat.
• CREAMY FILLING: Meanwhile, whisk all of the Creamy Filling ingredients together in a medium bowl, set aside. Combine cheeses in a separate bowl; set aside.
• ASSEMBLE: Spread 1 cup of meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan (layer will be thin). Place 4 noodles lengthwise and part of a 5th noodle on top to cover. Spread ¾ cup Cream Filling evenly over top followed 1 cup combined cheeses. Repeat layers using two cups meat mixture, 4+ noodles, 3/4 Creamy Filling and 1 cup cheeses two more times for a total of 3 complete layers. To finish, top with remaining meat sauce followed by remaining cheese.
• BAKE: Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 20 more minutes or until the cheese is melted and casserole is heated through. Remove pan from oven and let stand 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh tomatoes, olives, avocados, cilantro and sour cream if desired.

MAKE-AHEAD MEXICAN LASAGNA FOR TWO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Brown meat with peppers in large skillet; drain. Return meat mixture to skillet. Add VELVEETA, seasonings and water; stir. Cook 2 to 3 min. or until VELVEETA is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Stir in beans and tomatoes; cook 3 min., stirring occasionally.
• Line two 9x5-inch loaf pans with Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil, letting foil extend 6 inches over each side of pan. Spread 1/2 cup meat mixture onto bottom of each prepared pan; top with 2 tortilla halves and 1 cup of the remaining meat mixture. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Fold ends of foil over lasagna to cover lasagna. (If freezing for later use, use foil handles to remove lasagna from pan. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet. Freeze up to 3 months.)
• Bake lasagna 15 to 20 min. or until heated through. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

MAKE-AHEAD MEXICAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• In medium skillet, brown ground beef together with salt and dry minced onions over medium-high heat until beef is no longer pink.
• Drain fat. Sprinkle taco seasoning over meat and add 1/2 cup water. Simmer until sauce thickens.
• Turn off heat. Add in black beans, corn, refried beans and salsa, and mix to combine. Set aside.
• Prepare a 9x13 aluminum pan or baking dish (or half size steam table tray, aluminum cake pan or roasting dish, etc.) by spraying liberally with non-stick cooking spray.
• Pour in half of the tomato sauce and spread it over the bottom of the pan.
• Layer two tortillas on top of the sauce, covering as much of the pan as you can.
• Add half of your meat mixture and gently spread over the tortilla layer.
• Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheese over the meat layer.
• Repeat one more layer of tortillas, meat mixture and shredded cheese (1 cup).
• Place your remaining two tortillas and then pour in the remaining tomato sauce and carefully spread it over the tortillas.
• Top with the last 2 cups of shredded cheese.

MEXICAN LASAGNA WITH NOODLES

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook the ground beef over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain off excess fat. In a large bowl, combine the cooked beef, refried beans, oregano, cumin and garlic powder.
• Place four of the uncooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread half of the beef mixture over the noodles. Top with 4 more uncooked noodles and the remaining half of the beef mixture. Cover with remaining noodles. Combine the water and the salsa in a medium bowl, and pour over all.
• Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours, or until noodles are tender.
• In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, green onions and olives. Spoon over casserole, and top with shredded cheese. Return to the oven, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

MEXICAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef, and stir in the taco seasoning and tomatoes. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with half the tortillas. Spoon the beef mixture into the dish, then top with the remaining tortillas. Spread salsa over the tortillas and sprinkle with the cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

MAKE-AHEAD LASAGNA

Steps:

• Peel and chop the onion to measure 1/2 cup.
• In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook the beef and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked. Place a strainer or colander in a large bowl; line strainer with a double thickness of paper towels. Pour the beef mixture into the strainer to drain. Return beef mixture to Dutch oven; discard paper towels and any juices in the bowl.
• Into the beef, stir the parsley, basil, sugar, seasoned salt, tomatoes (with liquid), soup, tomato paste and water. Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally. Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat just enough so mixture bubbles gently. Cook uncovered 20 minutes.
• In an ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, spread 2 cups of the sauce mixture. Top with 4 uncooked noodles. Spread half of the cottage cheese over noodles; spread with 2 cups sauce mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 4 noodles, remaining cottage cheese, 2 cups sauce mixture and remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining noodles and sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil; refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Bake covered 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake 30 to 40 minutes longer or until hot in center. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

MAKE-AHEAD MEXICAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook garlic, onion, ground beef, chili powder and cumin for 10 minutes until beef is browned and completely cooked.
• Drain if necessary.
• Stir in beans; set aside.
• Combine sour cream and flour until smooth; set aside. Combine tomato sauce and salsa; set aside.
• Place 1 1/2 tortillas in the bottom of lightly oiled 8 cup rectangular baking dish, overlapping slightly.
• Top with half each meat mixture, sour cream mixture and tomato sauce mixture.
• Repeat layers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hour.
• Bake in 350F oven for 30 minutes until bubbly. Top with cheese, olives, chips and jalapenos; bake for 5 minutes.

REALLY EASY MAKE AHEAD LASAGNA FOR TWO

Steps:

• Mix all the filling ingredients together reserving 1/2 cup of mozzarella for the top of the lasagna.
• Put 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of an 8 x 8 brownie pan or casserole dish (use glass or ceramic).
• layer noodles over sauce and spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture onto the noodles and then spoon on more sauce.
• Layer noodles for the second layer in the opposite direction, add 1/3 of the filling on top and then more sauce. Repeat until the pan is full.
• Cover the top layer of noodles with remaining sauce and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
• To Bake:.
• Remove the lasagna from the fridge 1/2 hour before baking. Remove plastic wrap and cover the dish with foil. Preheat the oven to 350 and bake about 45 minutes to an hour until the lasagne tests hot. If you like a crunchy top just uncover for about 15 minutes.

MAKE-AHEAD LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook and crumble beef and sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in marinara and pizza sauces. In a bowl, mix eggs, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley and pepper., Spread 1 cup meat sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with 4 noodles, half of the ricotta cheese mixture, 1 cup meat sauce and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. Remove lasagna from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake, covered, 45 minutes. Bake, uncovered, until cheese is melted, 10-15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.