Mexican Lasagna Enchilada Stack Recipes

ENCHILADA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in ground turkey; cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain excess grease.
• Stir enchilada sauce and diced tomatoes into the pot. Simmer until flavors combine, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Mix cottage cheese, egg, and cumin together in a small bowl.
• Spread 1/3 of the turkey sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish. Cover with 1/2 of the corn tortillas. Spread 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture on top. Sprinkle 1/3 of the Mexican cheese on top. Repeat layers once more, ending with remaining turkey sauce and Mexican cheese.
• Spray a large piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray; cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and continue baking until top is browned, about 15 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with green onion.

STACKED BEEF ENCHILADAS (AKA MEXICAN LASAGNA)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the ground beef and the baking soda. Mix with your hands until evenly combined. Let sit on the counter for 20 to 30 minutes.
• While the beef sits, prepare the sauce. Set an oven rack about 5 inches beneath the heating element and preheat the broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Toss the tomatoes, onions, and garlic with the vegetable oil directly on the prepared baking sheet. Broil until softened and charred, 12 to15 minutes (if the vegetables are browning too quickly, give them a quick stir with a rubber spatula). Transfer the vegetables and juices to a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper and pulse until just slightly chunky. Add the cilantro and pulse until the cilantro is chopped. Set the sauce aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the beef and cook, stirring frequently and breaking into pieces, until just slightly pink, about 2 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes more, or until cooked through.
• To assemble: Preheat oven to 350°F and move the oven rack to the center position. Lightly oil a 9x13-in glass or ceramic baking dish.
• Set aside 1 cup of the sauce for the top of the casserole. (You want to ensure that you have enough to cover the top layer of tortillas, otherwise they won't cook through.)
• Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of tortillas, overlapping them slightly. Spoon half of the beef (and any juices) over the tortillas. Top with half of the sauce and ⅓ of the cheese. Repeat with another layer of tortillas, the remaining beef, remaining sauce, and ⅓ of the cheese. Top with the remaining tortillas. Spread the reserved sauce over the tortillas and cover completely. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over top. Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the casserole is heated through and the cheese is completely melted.
• Note: Chipotle chili powder is smoky and hot and makes this dish a little spicy. For a milder dish, replace the chipotle chili powder with ancho chili powder, which isn't as hot.
• MAKE-AHEAD/FREEZER-FRIENDLY INSTRUCTIONS: The casserole can be prepared ahead of time, tightly covered with foil, and refrigerated for up to two days or frozen for up to 3 months before baking (if frozen, defrost in the refrigerator before cooking). It can also be fully baked, tightly covered with foil, and refrigerated for up to two days or frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat: defrost if necessary and heat the covered casserole in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes, or until hot. If you'd rather reheat individual servings, small portions can be zapped in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.

MEXICAN LASAGNA LITE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Brown ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Stir in taco seasoning mix and water, bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Simmer turkey mixture until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chopped green chilies and remove from heat.
• Spread a scant 2/3 cup enchilada sauce evenly over the bottom of an 8x10-inch baking dish; top sauce with 4 tortillas, overlapping if necessary. Spread tortillas with half the sour cream, half the refried beans, half the turkey mixture, and 1/3 the cheese blend. Top with another 2/3 cup enchilada sauce and 4 more tortillas. Firmly press down on tortillas to compact the layers beneath.
• Repeat layers, spreading remaining sour cream, refried beans, turkey mixture, 1/3 the cheese blend and 2/3 cup enchilada sauce onto tortillas. Top with remaining 4 tortillas; press down as before. Finish layering casserole with remaining 2/3 cup enchilada sauce and remaining 1/3 the cheese blend.
• Bake casserole uncovered in the preheated oven until the cheese topping is melted and bubbling and casserole is hot, about 20 minutes.

STACKED ENCHILADA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute pepper in oil for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer or until pepper is crisp-tender. Stir in the chicken, beans and onions; heat through. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm. , In the same skillet, combine enchilada and picante sauces. Coat both sides of one tortilla with sauce mixture; place in a greased 9-in. pie plate. Top with a third of the chicken mixture and 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining tortilla, sauce and cheese. , Cover and bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until heated through. Remove to a serving plate and cut into wedges. Serve with sour cream and lettuce if desired.

FAVORITE MEXICAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in the salsa, beans, enchilada sauce, chilies, taco seasoning and pepper; heat through. , Spread 1 cup meat mixture in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with two tortillas, a third of the remaining meat mixture and 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and meat mixture., Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with tortilla chips. , Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with olives, guacamole, tomatoes and sour cream if desired.

ENCHILADA STACK CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Brown the hamburger, drain off fat. Add the onion, minced garlic, salsa and tomatoes. I can my own tomatoes but you can really use any tomato you want as long as you can kind of mash it up. Sprinkle and mix in the enchilada sauce mix. Let this simmer for 20 minutes for until this thickens up a bit. Season to taste.
• Spray with non stick cooking spray an 11 x 7 (if you want thick layers) or a 9X13 (if you want thinner layers - more tortillas). Cut the tortillas up to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Layer the meat mixture, layer of cheese and then a layer of tortillas, meat, layer tortillas and then top with cheese to cover up the tortillas.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 10 min or until cheese melts and browns up just a bit.
• Cut and serve with sour cream, diced tomatoes and lettuce.

STACKED ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• In a small frying pan, brown then drain the ground beef.
• In a small sauce pot, heat enchilada sauce.
• In another sauce pot, combine the black beans and corn. Cover and heat.
• I like to warm the tortillas in the microwave then put them in one of those handy plastic tortilla warmers. It's just better when they're warm and soft. (If you really want to go all out, try making your own tortillas with masa mix. You just add water and they taste sooooo much better!).
• Now just make an assembly line. I usually have the two sauce pans on the front burners and the rest on paper plates to the side. Pile on in this order: tortilla, meat, bean/corn combo, sauce, cheese. Repeat so you have two layers. Yummy and quick!
• Some other good toppings include sour cream, guacamole and olives.