tried, tested, true, and tasty

Mexican food is one of my favorite ethnic cuisines. Although it can end up looking like a heap of unidentifiable mush on your plate with everything oozing together (into what I personally consider to be a beautiful mosaic), it's almost always downright delicious. Unfortunately, it's also often really bad for those little tunnels we call arteries. The notion of combining oodles of cheese, deep-fried everything, and lardy beans in the same dish makes my little arteries quiver (and my mouth water...but that's not the point here).


The marvelous Equal Opportunity Kitchen family is hosting the second run of an event entitled Tried, Tested, and True.


For this round, they're promoting healthy recipes. I really wanted to show off one of my favorite Mexican dishes, but I had a little work to do to make it worthy of the descriptor "healthy."


Usually when I make my Mexican lasagna, I use fully-fatted refried beans, seasoned ground beef (or sometimes chicken), and handfuls of pepper jack cheese. This does not scream "good for you." On the other hand, some healthier components--black beans, peppers, corn, tomatoes, and cilantro--are always present in some form.


This time, in an effort to enhance the nutritional aspect of this delightful dish, I skipped the meat and added more beans and quinoa. Granted, this substitution isn't necessarily an advantage since it results in reduced protein, but there's also the reduced fat and increased fiber to consider. I went a little lighter on the cheese as well (I couldn't bear to sacrifice too much), and used whole wheat tortillas and fat-free refried beans (which turned out to be more tasty than the regular type). Egads, that's a lot of beans.


This is an extremely flexible recipe--you can obviously add whatever you like and remove the things you don't enjoy. I really like it my usual way--it's a bit more hearty and happifying (that's not a real word, but you know what I mean)--but I think these changes yield a perfectly acceptable compromise.


Mexican Lasagna
14 oz can enchilada sauce (you can go with 10 ounces if you like it a little less soupy)
6 small whole wheat tortillas
16 oz can fat-free refried beans
1 cup black beans
1 cup kidney beans
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups corn
10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chilies
2 bell peppers, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup pepper jack cheese

Combine black beans, kidney beans, quinoa, corn, diced tomatoes with chiles, peppers, cilantro, salt, and spices in large bowl; mix well.
Spread some enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish. Cover sauce with two tortillas. Slather half of the refried beans onto the tortillas. Add half of the vegetable mixture; spread out evenly. Add half of remaining enchilada sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.
Commence happification.