Meg Goes Nom Nom

Finding a hundred variations on a Mexican casserole is not a difficult task. Basically, they’re a dime a dozen. “Mexican Lasagna,” or “Taco Delight,” or “Fiesta Casserole,” or what have you. Most everyone loves the familiar flavors to be found in these comfort food dishes.

Finding one that is relatively healthy, and not weighed down by greasy ground meat, sour cream, and handfuls of melted cheese, is a bit trickier. However, I’ve found a good one in the bunch, from Taste of Home!

In this case, the recipe is for Enchilada Lasagna, and the first step was to prepare the filling, which consists of lean ground sirloin (or lean ground turkey), a hefty serving of veggies in the form of onions and bell peppers, and a modest quantity of fat-free cream cheese. And I promise I couldn’t even tell it was fat-free cream cheese.

Then I dipped flour tortillas in canned enchilada sauce before layering them in the bottom of a baking dish. Make the dish even lower calorie by using low-carb wraps that are also lower in calories than traditional flour tortillas.

Then layer in the meat filling, a modest quantity of reduced-fat sharp cheddar, more sauced-tortillas, and repeat.

Then you just bake that thang for about 25 minutes. That was easy, right?

Yum-o!

This Enchilada Lasagna made for a really hearty, filling dinner and I didn’t feel guilty about going back for seconds. And bonus – the leftovers are even better!

Enchilada Lasagna

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground sirloin or turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 package (8 ounces) fat-free cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce
• 6 whole wheat flour tortillas (8 inches)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend

To garnish: sour cream and salsa (optional)

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook the meat, onion and peppers over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in cream cheese and chili powder.
• Pour enchilada sauce in a shallow bowl. Dip tortillas in sauce to coat. Place two tortillas in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray; spread with half of the meat mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese.
• Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutritional Facts: 1 piece (calculated without salsa and sour cream) equals 282 calories, 11 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 57 mg cholesterol, 697 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 22 g protein. [source]

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