An Accidental Dinner

The other night we had this huge plan to make enchiladas, Mexican rice, and some refried beans for a full-fledged Mexican meal. We prepared the enchilada filling, made the enchilada sauce, went to roll the enchiladas, and then found out that our corn tortillas just wouldn't hold up to the challenge. So, on a spur of the moment thought, we made Mexican lasagna! It turned out to work wonderfully and taste equally delicious.


Mexican Lasagna

This lasagna is a mixture of my own recipe and an enchilada sauce recipe from Betty Crocker's Cookbook with the addition of chipotle peppers in adobo. We used a combination of chopped spinach, mushrooms, and tofu for the filling, but any combination of meats and vegetables could be used.

1 tsp. olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup tofu, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and dried
2/3 cup water
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can (15-oz.) tomato sauce
1-2 cups cheddar cheese, depending on taste, shredded or sliced
6 corn tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute until starting to become tender. Add tofu and continue to cook until slightly browned on all sides. Combine spinach with mushroom and tofu mixture.
3. In a 2-quart saucepan, heat remaining ingredients except for the tortillas and cheese, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
4. Dip two tortillas into the sauce and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Place half of the vegetables on the tortillas, followed by a third of the cheese. Repeat produre with torillas, remaining half of vegetables, and another third of the cheese. For the final layer, layer the dipped tortillas, cheese, and remaining sauce into the dish. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until heated through and cheese bubbles.


Mexican Rice Pilaf (Safeway Select Brown Rice bag)

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 cup brown rice
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup salsa
1 tsp. chili powder

1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add onions and cook until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add rice and saute for 2 minutes. Pour in broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 45-50 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
2. To cooked rice, mix in the salsa and chili powder.