Taco Lasagna

Hi Everyone,

He he, I’m all happy!  Wednesday night I made the most delicious dinner and I am so excited that I just had to share it with you, ASAP!  Normally I prepare my meals, treats and other goodies over the weekend and then post them throughout the week, but this dinner couldn’t wait till next week.  Uh uh!

Like how I got right to it?  Food!!!  There’s no small talk when I have a dinner dish like this to share!  I know, I know, I am all about the food!  What can I say?  I lead a non-exciting life.  Anyway, my yummy, mmm, mmm good dinner is Taco Lasagna!  I am such a Mexican food freak!  I love my hot sauce, peppers, cheese, oh I just love all of it!

I know what your thinking, it looks like taco salad, but it’s not!   Ohhhh, (totally making a Homer Simpson noise right now) it’s made with whole wheat lasagna noodles, it’s layered  with ground beef, surrounded by a homemade red sauce.  It tastes amazing (drooling).  If you’re a taco fan, you’ll love this lasagna, trust me!!!  Get this, it’s under 300 calories!  The slice’s are HUGE!!!  Huge I say!  One slice will fill you!  “Please note, with my explanation points, I am not yelling at you, I am just overly excited, and I like to use the explanation points!”

Now don’t let the ingredients list scare you!  It’s pretty normal pantry food, and some stuff you can skip, if you want.  It’s a pretty versatile recipe.  Skip the ground beef and add black beans and rice.  Throw on some zucchini and more veggies.  Whatever your heart desires.  The red sauce is pretty basic and is only a few ingredients.  This was a wing it dinner, and I am glad I did!  Last week I had flop, after flop for dishes and this week I’m batting 100!  I am just one happy camper!

Did I ever tell you my first job was working at Mighty Taco?  Yup, I was a taco maker, well mostly a cashier, but I did make tacos and Burritos.  I loved that job!  I worked there for about 3 years or so, I even quit once, missed it and went back.  If you don’t know what Mighty Taco is, it’s a WAY BETTER type of Taco Bell restaurant.  There only located in Buffalo, NY.  The location I worked at was near the airport and so many people would go there right after their flight or during a layover.  People used to tell me that Mighty Taco was their favorite reason for coming to Buffalo.  I don’t blame them!  It was good and oddly enough I never got sick of the food.  I loved it!  Now I miss it!  I took all my taco making skills with me!  I am one mean burritos folder!  🙂

Taco Lasagna

Ground Beef Mixture Ingredients:

• 1 lbs lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1/2 cup Bell Pepper,diced
• 1 – 15oz can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chili’s, not drained
• 11/2 tbsp. taco seasoning
• 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, no boil

Red Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 1 15oz can tomato sauce
• 11/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp. parsley
• dash of sugar

Additional Add In’s:

• 1 cup salsa (I used Trader Joe’s Chunky Salsa)

Toppings before Baking:

• 2 oz shredded lite Mexican cheese

Additional topping when done:

• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 Tbsp. black olives, sliced
• jalapenos, sliced (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

In a skillet add onion, garlic, bell pepper and ground beef, cook until beef is no longer pink and vegetables are tender . Add diced tomatoes and taco seasoning. Cook until liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes.  Stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a pot, add olive oil and 1 clove of garlic cook for about 1 minute, add the tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, oregano, parsley and sugar. Cook for 10 minutes on low. Stirring occasionally.

In a oven proof baking dish, spoon a little bit of the red sauce on the bottom of your baking dish.

Start to layer:
Add one layer (3 noodles) of lasagna noodles into baking dish, add 1/2 of the beef mixture, 1/2 cup salsa, 1/3 of the sauce.

Add 3 more noodles on top, add the remaining beef mixture, remaining salsa and 1/3 of the sauce.

Add last 3 noodles and top with remaining sauce and add the shredded cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, when done, let the lasagna sit for 5 minutes.

Additional toppings on top: cilantro, greek yogurt,tomatoes and black olives.

Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings, about 3 x 3 in size

Calories per serving:  286,  Fat:  6.3,  Cholesterol:  41,  Sodium:  947,  Potassium:  264,  Carbs:  34,  Fiber:  4,  Sugar:  5.8,  Protein:  25.3

It’s getting late here and I am going through peanut butter withdrawals.  I need to pull out my food processor (his name is Zach) and start to make some batches of Peanut Butter.  I don’t know what I would do if I had to go one whole day with out PB.  Well I have back up for emergency!  I even keep a couple of packets in my purse and one at my desk at work, but hey, you can never have too much peanut butter!!

So I am signing off!   Now make sure you try my Taco Lasagna, it is so dam good!  It’s going to be leftovers for dinner tomorrow and that makes me happy!!!  He he he!  Dam, if I wasn’t so full right now, I’d eat some more!

Have a great day!  Just think, the weekend is almost here!!!!!  he he