Valerie's Mexican Lasagna

I came up with this recipe one night when I wanted to serve tacos and just wasn't in the mood for all the components and their individual bowls or dishes that have to be placed on the table or the island.......nor was I in the mood to clean up all those dishes. So I decided to just put taco ingredients into a casserole and serve it that way. The results were surprising. My family loved the casserole and now they want it served weekly. You can make a few of these ahead and freeze them. If you don't have the freezer space, a big time saver is to purchase ground beef on sale, in bulk and cook & season it all at once. Divide and freeze in 1 pound containers. Makes assembly day a breeze. Just microwave 1 pound of the cooked & seasoned beef for about 1 minute to loosen it up. Then proceed with assembly of the casserole and bake.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 1 casserole

Ingredients

• 1  lb ground beef, browned and crumbled
• 1  taco seasoning, packet
• 12  corn tortillas, uncooked
• 1 (15 ounce) can  refried beans or 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) jar  taco sauce
• 3  cups sharp cheddar cheese or 3  cups  Mexican blend cheese, shredded
•  picante sauce
•  sour cream
•  diced tomato
•  lettuce
•  tortilla chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Season ground beef according to directions on taco seasoning packet. Set aside prepared beef for layering.
3. Spray 9 X 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Layer ingredients in the following order:
4. 4 Corn tortillas.
5. Spread 1/2 can of beans over tortillas.
6. Sprinkle 1/3 of beef over the beans.
7. Spread about 1/4 cup of taco sauce over beef.
8. 1/2 can of corn over sauce.
9. 1 Cup of shredded cheese.
10. Another layer of corn tortillas.
11. Repeat above layers ending with a layer of beef.
12. Bake, covered 30 minutes.
13. Uncover and sprinkle with 1 Cup of shredded cheese. Return to oven until cheese is fully melted.
14. NOTE: if using refried beans, it's a good idea to thin the beans with 3-4 tablespoons of the taco sauce.
15. Serve casserole hot with chopped lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream, chips and salsa.