Mexican Lasagna

I was inspired by Katherine at Smoky Mountain Café to make a Mexican lasagna and also by my six year old daughter who made her Uncle Brooks a fantastic burrito while we were on vacation. My daughter has been wanting to create a recipe for the blog and I thought we could take her delicious burrito and make it into a lasagna. She was extremely excited to start cooking. She picked out all of the ingredients, including the ground turkey, by herself. I chose the seasonings for the ground turkey but other than that she made this entire meal. It was like watching her do an art project...I think she we will be a terrific cook someday. The lasagna smelled amazing while it cooked in the oven and looked fantastic when it was finished baking. We topped it with fresh guacamole and chopped green onions. We all really loved this meal...except for the chef. She just didn't care for it. Go figure. This is a versatile dish that can be made vegetarian or with different meats or seafood. I am looking forward to making different variations of this delicious Mexican lasagna.

Mexican Lasagna:

• 3-4 flour tortillas
• Salsa
• Cheddar cheese, grated
• Refried beans
• Black beans
• Frozen sweet corn, thawed
• Tomatoes, diced
• Black olives, sliced
• Green onions, sliced
• Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Guacamole

Turkey Filling:

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small sweet yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Dice and prepare all vegetables for the lasagna. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add the ground turkey and break up until it's in small crumbles. Add the onion and seasonings then mix thoroughly. Cook until the meat is done and the onion is tender, about 6-7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and stir constantly for 60 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Add some salsa to the bottom of the baking dish and coat evenly. Next add a flour tortilla (I trimmed the sides a bit so it would fit the dish). Spread refried beans over the entire tortilla then add cheese, ground turkey, black beans, tomatoes, corn, black olives, a bit of green onion then spread some salsa over the top. Add another flour tortilla and repeat the layering process 2- 3 times.

On the final layer, add the tortilla, a thick layer of salsa and cheddar cheese then sprinkle the top with black olive slices.

Cover and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove lid (or tin foil) and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the cheese melts and gets golden brown. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Top with fresh guacamole and sliced green onions. Enjoy.

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