Mexican Lasanga and Alternatives
Ingredients
½ White Onion
1 - 1.5 Peppers (I like green or red)
1 Large Zucchini
1 ½ Cups of Shredded Cheese
1 Fresh Jalapeno or 1 Jar of Pickled Jalapenos
1 Lb Ground Meat (beef, pork, turkey, and/or black beans for a vegetarian option)
1 Large Jar of Salsa
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Taco Seasoning (or 1 tsp cumin, paprika, garlic, and chili powder)
Garnish: Avocado (add garlic and lime juice for guacamole) and taco chips
Instructions
Makes appx: 6 Servings
Total Cook and Prep Time: 50 Minutes
Place a large frying pan on medium heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil, once oil is warm add ground meat (if you’re choosing to add meat). Once meat is cooked, should be lightly browned, add 1 jar of salsa and taco seasoning (and black beans if you choose). Meat should take approximately 20 minutes to cook, once the salsa is added allow another 10 minutes for the entire mixture to simmer.
If you are not using meat, add the entire jar of salsa, taco seasoning, and can of drained black beans into the pan after the oil is heated. Allow this mixture to simmer for 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 400 Degrees F once the salsa mixture has finished simmering.
While your salsa mixture is simmering, prepare your vegetable layers: dice the onion, peppers, and jalapenos and shave the zucchini into long flat lasagna noodles. This can be done with a peeler or a mandolin.
Light grease a deep casserole dish (at least 4 inches).
Lay down 1 layer of zucchni lasagna noodles in the casserole dish, followed by a layer of the salsa mixture, sprinkle on a layer of peppers and onions, next top with cheese, and add a layer of jalapenos. Repeat these steps until you’ve used up all of your ingredients.
Place the casserole dish in the oven and allow to bake for 20 minutes. Top cheese should be browned.
Alternative Options:
Mexican Dip
Instead of using zucchini noodles and meat, add 1 can of refried beans and layer peppers and onions and cheese with a black bean salsa mixture to make a mexican dip!
Stuffed Peppers
Instead of dicing the peppers, slice them in half and remove inner stem and seeds. Fill the peppers with the salsa/black bean mixture and top with cheese. Bake these for 30 minutes at 400 Degrees F.
