Mexican Lasagna (with my own flair added!!)

Have a pound of ground beef and a little time? I make my own tortillas and then layer them in a 13x9 baking dish with a browned burger mixture that I came up with. Add a bit of cheddar cheese and voila!! With a salad for the side, it's a yummy, satisfying meal! Make sure you read through this recipe before you start...to make sure you have all the details. This is easy to make, but it was hard to explain in some areas...

Homemade Tortilla batter

~2 cups flour
~1 cup yellow cornmeal
~1/2 teaspoon salt
~3 cups cold water
~2 eggs

Mix ingredients until batter is smooth. (~makes about 20-24 tortillas)

Heat a small saute' pan over medium-low heat and grease with spray oil.
Add a scant 1/3 cup of batter and rotate pan to evenly coat bottom.
Cook until top of tortilla is dry. (about 2 minutes or so) Flip over.
Cook another 30 seconds and slide onto a plate.
Continue cooking the rest of the batter, piling cooked tortillas on top of each other. (here is where it takes a bit of your time, so start this meal about an hour before you want to eat or make these ahead of time...you can refrigerate them for future use!)

Meat mixture:
Meanwhile, as you cook the tortillas, brown one pound of hamburg and then drain fat.
Add a 16oz jar of salsa (you choose the heat!!)
Add a 28oz can of baked beans, DRAINED WELL!! (just a regular can of baked beans...it gives this mixture a bit of a sweet flavor that offsets the salsa and my family likes it better than the traditional spice of the Mexican flavor packets that are typically used in a dish like this)
Let the mixture simmer until you are done cooking the tortillas. (you will have extra tortillas...but these are great for lunch as a quesadilla or for breakfast with cheesy scrambled eggs inside...just refrigerate them for future use)

You will also need 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese to layer with meat mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 13x9 baking dish. Layer 4 tortillas in the bottom...you can cut two of them in half to fit the bottom of the pan. Add a third of the meat mixture and about 3/4 cup of cheese . Layer 4 more tortillas, add meat and cheese. Layer 4 more tortillas, same deal! So, you now have 3 layers of meat and cheese with the tortillas, ending with the meat and cheese...layer on 4 more tortillas and sprinkle on the last of the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes in the 350 degree oven. Serve with extra salsa and sour cream.


You can use store made tortillas..there certainly are enough choices out there, but I have to say that the homemade ones are amazing! AND, don't forget, you can make them ahead of time for future use! Give them a try....you won't be sorry!



Here is my scant 1/3 cup of batter being rotated to evenly cover the bottom of a 9" non-stick saute' pan:


Wait until all the bubbles are gone and it looks dry...then flip over:


This one looks just about done...most of the cooking is on the first side...just about 30 seconds on the second side and you can slide it onto a plate:



I layer about 16 tortillas with my meat mixture and cheese in each layer:


Oh YUM....the family absolutely LOVES this meal!