Mexican Lasagna - A Gluten Free Crowd Pleaser

Today's recipe comes from Linda at Gluten Free Homemaker.

Linda is a stay at home wife and mother of three boys. She has homeschooled for 13 years, and her oldest graduated in May. In 2000, she was diagnosed with celiac disease and has been eating, cooking, and baking gluten free ever since.

This dish is one of those recipes that I often fall back on when I’m having company, especially when there are a lot of mouths to feed. I also rely on it when taking a meal somewhere. I have gotten requests for this dish and for its recipe multiple times. It’s easy to understand why. Traditional lasagna has been a favorite for generations, and these days Mexican is a favorite style of food. The thing I love most is that this version is much easier and can be put together much more quickly than traditional lasagna.

It also happens to be naturally gluten free, and chances are pretty good that you know some one who is on a gluten free diet. I usually serve it with gluten free corn bread and salad. If you don’t bake gluten free but need to feed someone who eats that way, just serve it with plain tortilla chips and a salad (with no croutons) or other vegetable.

Mexican Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

1 can refried beans
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 – 1 ½ lbs. ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix (McCormick is gluten free)
1 small onion, chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
4 – 6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
corn tortillas (about 6)

Instructions

Brown and drain the ground beef, adding the onions and garlic if desired. Add the taco seasoning and prepare according to package instructions (usually add ¾ c. water and cook about 5 minutes). In a small bowl, combine the refried beans and tomato sauce. Spread a little of this in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish (8 x 8 in.) that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray or greased.

Cut the corn tortillas into strips about 1 inch wide. 5 strips works well, and you can cut several tortillas at a time. Add a layer of tortilla strips to the bottom of the dish, slightly overlapping the strips.

Put half the meat mix over the tortilla strips, spreading it out to the edges. Add half the remaining bean/tomato sauce mix, then top it with a layer of cheese. Repeat the layers--tortilla strips, meat, sauce, and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes. Let it stand 5 – 10 minutes before serving and then enjoy! I know you will.