Mexican Lasagna

I found myself in a bit of a rush to get dinner done the other night and wanted to use up some items in both the fridge and the pantry.  I was inspired to do something with the leftover tortillas that I had made the other day and a Mexican lasagna was born.

Mexican Lasagna (yields 4 servings)
.5 lb of ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cayenne pepper, ribbed and seeded and chopped
1/4 c. green bell pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can refried beans
1 tbsp. chili powder
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt & pepper, to taste
4-6 spent grain tortillas

I know some of you are thinking... what? only a 1/2 pound of meat?!  Well, I only have three mouths to feed and with everything else that is in the lasagna, that is all we need, and we still have leftovers!  Recipes are made for a guide... some inspiration.  Feel the free to adapt any recipe to fit your wants and needs!  :)

Preheat the oven to 350F

Brown the turkey over medium-high in a skillet until no longer pink.  Remove from skillet and drain.

Using the same skillet, add onions and cook till starting to soften - about 3 minutes.  Add the bell pepper, cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Add the cayenne pepper and garlic, cook for 1 minute.

Return the turkey to the skillet.  Add the tomatoes (I put mine in a food processor for a minute because my daughter doesn't like chunks of tomatoes).  Add the spices and mix well.  Heat over medium heat till heated through.

Heat refried beans, either in a microwave using a microwave-bowl or in a small saucepan (the beans are easier to spread when warm).

Time to assemble the lasagna.  I used a 9" glass pie plate.  I layed on tortilla on the bottom of plate and broke off pieces of another tortilla to cover the bottom of the plate (this may not be neccessary, it depends on how big your tortillas are).  Next I spread 1/3 of the refried beans over top of the tortilla.  On top of the beans, I put 1/3 of the tomato meat mixture, spread out evenly.  Last, sprinkle about 1/3 cup of shredded cheese.  Repeat tortilla layer.  Spread the remaining 2/3 of refried beans ontop of tortilla.  Spread 1/3 of tomato meat mixture.  Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of cheese.  Place last layer of tortillas, spread the remaining tomato-meat mixture and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!