Black Bean Casserole (a.k.a. "Mexican Lasagna")

Hey all! I've made this several times and I'm always adding and subtracting ingredients based on what I have on-hand at the time.  It's a great "base" sort of recipe and as a result is perfect for adapting to your own taste.  The first time I made it, it was meatless, so I called it a black bean-tortilla casserole, but my husband prefers the term "Mexican Lasagna"...probably because I don't like real lasagna so this is the closest he comes to it!

First, I preheat the oven to 350 degrees and layer 6 corn tortillas in a 9 X 13 baking dish. (I let the tortillas overlap a bit, but I make sure to cover as much of the bottom of the dish as possible.

While the oven is warming up, I saute diced red onions, minced garlic (or garlic powder if I'm out of the good stuff), and a FEW diced jalapenos (these bad boys go a long way...especially if you are using the kind that come in a jar like pickles and get hotter the longer they sit unused but opened in your refrigerator) in some olive oil for a few minutes. As the veggies are cooking, I usually add wedding seasoning blend (See What's In My Pantry?) along with some paprika.

Here I usually add corn (frozen or canned and drained) and black beans (cooked previously from a dry bag, or canned and drained) before adding more seasonings to taste. Next I add my husband's famous Morrow Family Salsa ("Hot Sauce" as they call it) if we have any or I add some tomatoes (either a few fresh ones or about half a can of the diced ones that has been well-drained).

This is great without meat, but when available, it's much more filling to have the extra protein.  Sometimes I throw in handfuls of shredded rotisserie style chicken, or I'll cook up some ground beef to add to the mix.  I haven't tried any seafood, but I'm sure tuna or even shrimp would still taste great in this recipe!

Once everything has been cooked and seasoned adequately, I layer half of the sauteed mixture on top of the tortillas in the baking dish. I then sprinkle on a layer of cheese. Cheddar works great, but sometimes I mix it up with colby-jack or mozzerella (or a combo!).  I would think pepper jack would be good if you were wanting to kick it up a notch.

Then I add a second layer of tortillas on top of the cheese, followed by the other half of the sauteed mixture, and finish with another layer of cheese. I pop the whole thing in the oven for 15 minutes or so and voila! Dinner!

The meatless version.

I usually serve this with sour cream for me and salsa or Louisiana hot sauce for my hubby. Sometimes I mix the sour cream in with the sauteed mixture to make the whole thing a little creamier, but I have to be careful because my husband is lactose-intolerant and he insists that I not skip the cheese for this one.

It would be easy to add other veggies like broccoli or shredded potatoes to this dish if you so chose. You could also replace the black beans with kidney beans or chili beans. I love the versatility of this dish!

The first time I made this, it was meatless and my husband gave it an 8.2 out of ten on our yummy scale. Coming from a guy who loves meat, that's pretty high! He upped the rating for the chicken version, but I didn't write that one into my dinner log, so I have no clue what his actual rating was for that version. :p

This dish is super easy and straight forward...great for people just learning how to cook or wanting to do more experimenting in the kitchen without wasting money on failed attempts. Seriously, even if you burn some of the veggies, this will usually still turn out great! Best of luck, and happy eating! :)

Happy Husband is Happy. :)