Layered Tex-Mex Lasagna

Last night I made my first recipe from the Forks over Knives book I have. Below is the original recipe, but I think it needed some alterations so I listed them below. You may want to take my changes into consideration before making this yourself.

Layered Tex-Mex Lasagna

by Mary McDougall

Serves 6 to 8

Tomato Sauce:

• Two 8-oz cans tomato sauce
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion power
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

You will also need:

• 4 cups mashed cooked pinto beans
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• One 2 1/4 can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped green chiles (optional)
• 10 to 12 corn tortillas

Optional toppings: salsa, tofu sour cream, salad greens, chopped tomato, guacamole, etc. 

To make sauce: Pull all ingredients for the sauce into a saucepan. Mix well with a whisk until well combined. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more chile powder if desired. Set aside. 
  
To assemble the casserole: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the beans, green onions, corn, olives and green chiles into a large bowl and mix gently until well combined.

Spread 1 1/2 cups of the sauce over the bottom of an oblong non-stick baking dish. Place 3 to 4 corn tortillas in the bottom of the dish. Spread half of the bean mixture evenly over the tortillas. Place another 3 to 4 tortillas over the bean mixture, then spread the remaining bean mixture on top. Cover with 3 to 4 more tortillas, and then pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas. Cover the baking dish with parchment paper, then cover with aluminum foil, crimping the edges over the baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the lasagna rest for about 15 minutes before cutting. Serve with desired toppings.

* * *

I give this recipe, as it stands, a 3 out of 5 stars. It was edible, not gross, but quite tasteless, despite the chile powder. I should mention that I didn't use green chiles in mine because I don't like them.

So...here are the complaints I heard and what I did/suggest to fix them (to make it a 4 out of 5 star recipe).

1. Too much tomato sauce. I followed the recipe but it made about twice the tomato sauce I ended up using. If you follow the recipe, your dish will be drowning in sauce. I spread just enough to cover the bottom of the pan in the beginning and just enough to cover the tortillas on the top. I suggest cutting the tomoto sauce portion of the recipe in half unless you like a very wet lasagna.

2. Too much corn. My kids complained there was too much corn. The recipe calls for a cup and a half. Next time I'm only going to use a cup. This is personal taste, of course, but I have to admit, it was heavy on the corn.

3. Needed Salt. Okay, let's face it. No salt in a recipe?? BLAND. Unless you simply cannot or will not use salt, I'd suggest adding a teaspoon or so. I added mine to the the kids' servings, simply sprinkling it over the top so I could still eat it salt free. This is where the extra toppings come in to play. Even with the salt, my kids needed salsa for flavor (and they aren't usually fans of the stuff) before they'd eat it. I loaded mine (and Len's) down with lots of lettuce and medium, chunky salsa, and then it was good. If I'd had non-dairy sour cream (like tofu sour cream) I would have used it. The olives added a nice sweetness to the recipe, so even though I don't usually cook with them, I'm glad I added them.

4. Parchment? Okay, I don't have parchment paper for cooking. So, I used waxed paper, then covered that with foil and it worked out well. My assumption is that this is used to keep in the moisture, and so waxed paper worked fine. 

5. Cutting corners. I used canned pinto beans because I was short on time and planning. I mashed them with a potato masher, but left them chunky...you don't want to make it a paste or it's too hard to spread across the tortillas. Also, canned corn would work if you don't have frozen. I know this might sound dumb but I was confused at first...wondering if the corn tortillas were supposed to be the hard, crisp kind or the soft ones. Yeah...soft. Use the soft ones. 

Once I put a good helping of lettuce and salsa on top, Len and I enjoyed it. Gehrig liked his with salt, but not enough to want seconds. Xavier took one bite and said he wanted to go to McDonalds for a cheeseburger. Davion refused to even try it. So...if I make this again, I will make a 1/2 pan to avoid throwing away left overs.