Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna

EmJoMay's Note:

This is from "Vegetarian Times: Low-Fat and Fast" (highly recommended). I've made it quite a few times now, and it's a nice bit of comfort food that doesn't require meat, doesn't add on the pounds, and uses up stuff left in the fridge. I like to serve it with lime cilantro rice and salad. For a tight schedule, assemble ahead of time and refrigerate and then pop it in the oven.

• Total Time: 36 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 26 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion , chopped (1 cup)
• 1 medium green bell pepper , coarsely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 -2 garlic clove , minced
• 1 -2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 dash cayenne pepper (or more, if preferred)
• 15 ½ ounces pinto beans or 15 ½ ounces kidney beans , rinsed and drained
• 1 cup corn kernel (frozen, fresh, or canned)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• nonstick cooking spray
• 8 small corn tortillas
• 1 ¼ cups nonfat cottage cheese or 1 ¼ cups low fat cottage cheese
• ½-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (it calls for cheddar, but I like the fiesta blend)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook, stirring, until tender (about 5 minutes).
3. Stir in the spices and cook one more minute.
4. Stir in beans, corn, and tomato sauce. Remove from heat.
5. Spray 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
6. Spread 4 tortillas over the bottom of the dish. Spoon half the bean mixture over tortillas and spread evenly. Spoon half the cottage cheese over the bean mixture and spread evenly. Evenly sprinkle half the shredded cheese over the cottage cheese. Repeat layers using the remaining tortillas, beans, cottage cheese, and shredded cheese.
7. Bake until heated through and cheese is bubbly, about 20 minutes (or a bit more if prepared and refrigerated ahead of time).