Rest Day Recipe: Amanda's Mexican Lasagna

Since today is a rest day and there is no running-related news to report, how about a nice recipe? I made it up myself and was so excited it didn't suck that I had to share! I guess I could make it running-related by saying it's healthy, although maybe not what you want to eat before your next ten-miler.

Amanda's Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped fine
• About 2 pounds boneless chicken breast or chicken thighs (I used breast tenders), cut into 1/2-1-inch cubes
• 3 green bell peppers, chopped
• 1 can black beans (15 oz), drained
• 1 can chili beans in sauce (15 oz)
• 1 can "Mexicorn" with red and green peppers (11 oz), drained
• 1 16 oz jar of salsa, your favorite (I used a mild salsa)
• 1 can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes and green chiles (10 oz)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 8-oz package Monterey Jack/Cheddar shredded cheese (I got a combo bag that mixed both)
• 6 large flour tortillas (burrito size, or 10") -- you can use more tortillas if you get smaller ones
• sour cream and guacamole (optional, to serve on the side if you like)

Preparation:

1. In a large, deep pot (seriously large, seriously deep--my largest saucepan was just about full to overflowing!), cook chopped onion, garlic, and green peppers in olive oil. Add chicken pieces, stirring everything frequently, and cook until chicken is no longer pink on the outside surfaces.
2. Add black beans, chili beans, and corn. Stir to mix well.
3. Add salsa and Ro-Tel tomatoes. Stir to mix well.
4. Add chili powder, salt, cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Mix well.
5. In a 9 x 13 pan (Warning: it will get VERY FULL!), place a small amount of filling across the bottom of the pan. Then place 2 tortillas (or however many you need) on top to cover.
6. Place 1/3 of the filling on top of the tortillas and sprinkle 1/3 of the bag of shredded cheese on top of that.
7. Cover with 2 tortillas, another 1/3 of the filling, and another 1/3 of the bag of cheese.
8. Place the last 2 tortillas (or however many you need) on top, the remainder of the filling, and the last of the cheese. (You may have a little leftover filling that won't fit in the 9 x 13 pan. It's very tasty all by itself!)
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until filling bubbles and cheese is thoroughly melted.
10. Serve with sour cream and guacamole on side.

Serves 10. I have no idea what the nutritional content for this dish would be, but being able to recognize and pronounce all the ingredients is a huge plus, in my opinion. The worst part is probably the cheese, and even that's not that bad. A whole bag has 880 calories, so that's only 88 calories per serving.

Oh, and my donation meter did finally move. A check I sent in two weeks ago finally got processed, so the meter moved even though it wasn't a new donation.

On that happy note, I bid you all good evening and bon appetit!