Day 22 - Mexican Lasagna

Well, I've spent the last three days in Rhode Island where I was able to get to three days of music at the Newport Folk Festival (www.newportfolkfest.net).  I caught sets from Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Trampled by Turtles, of Monsters and Men, the Head and the Heart, Iron and Wine and others.  I was able to spend good, quality time with a couple of old friends that I see only once in a while….Really, just an incredible weekend.

The venue at Newport is just beautiful, and the music is wonderful.  The artists actually walk the grounds with the crowd, and it is not uncommon to find yourself standing next to someone you saw on stage earlier in the day.  One of the guys I was with ran into (literally) Jackson Browne as he was walking to one of the stages.  If you are interested, you can find audio and video files of the festival on the NPR website (http://www.npr.org/event/music/155839092/newport-folk-festival-2012?ps=mh_frhdl2)

The Festival was fantastic, but it did put a crimp in my squash cooking.  Today's post is a recipe that I made several days ago.  This is a tasty, not too spicy casserole.  The tortillas cook in the casserole and take on a very noodle like quality, so my kids started calling this "Mexican Lasagna".  It is lasagna like in that there are layers, cheese and tomatoes, but to me the similarities stop there.

Give yourself 45 minutes to put this together, and 45-55 minutes for it to bake.

Mexican Lasagna

8 oz Italian Sausage
2 Chourizo Sausages
3 medium potatos
2 medium squash (yellow and green work best, but any summer ones will do)
1 small onion
1 T Olive Oil
16 taco size four tortillas
2 small jars of salsa (or one large)
8 oz grated cheese (or more if you like it cheesy)
1 small can of black beans (14 oz size)

Cook off the sausages, breaking them into small pieces as they cook.  Once the sausage is done, drain the grease and set the sausage aside.  While the Sausage is cooking, chop the onion, potato and squash into a large dice (1/4 inch or more).  Heat the oil, saute the potato for 5 minutes.  Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes more, until the onion just starts to get clear.  Add the squash and cook just until the squash starts to get soft 2-3 minutes more.  You don't want the veggies to be super done, just cooked through.  In a large bowl, mix the meat and veggies together.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In an 8 1/2 by 14 inch pan, pour enough salsa to cover the bottom of the pan.  This doesn't need to be too thick, you are just putting enough to keep the tortillas from sticking.  Take 3 tortillas, and cut them in half.  Place the tortillas with the cut side facing the edges so that you cover the bottom of the pan.  You'll have a big gap in the middle, which you can cover with a whole tortilla.  This is your first layer.  Add about one third of the meat/veggie mix and spread evenly.  Top with about a quarter of the cheese and a quarter of the remaining salsa. Repeat this two more times.  On the top of the casserole, spread the rest of the salsa and the remaining cheese.  You should now have a complete (and very heavy) dish.

Cook for 30 minutes and check the casserole.  If the top is getting too done, cover in foil and cook the last 15 to 20 minutes.

Reviews:  Well we snuck some squash into the 8 year old.  She also loves the sausage in this.  The teenagers ate it up as well.  Adults like this recipe, but would maybe like it a little spicier.

Note:  To spice this up, you can add Jalapeno pepper to the veggies.  You could also use only chourizo, use a hot salsa, or add spices to the veggie mix.   There are almost infinite options….which is what cooking is all about right?