Good Eating Monday: Slow Cooker Tex Mex Lasagna!

-
Ever buy those little recipe booklets at the grocery store? Sometimes they're recipes for quick meals or cakes or that sort of thing. That's where today's recipe comes from. One of those little recipe booklets from the grocery store: a collection of Slow Cooker recipes by Betty Crocker.
Of the recipes I've tried from it, this one is, by far, the BEST!
It makes a large quantity of Mexican-flavored, cheesy-goodness!
I'll give you the base recipe, but you can make yours more spicy by choosing hotter Salsa or Taco seasoning or add minced onions & chopped green peppers to the meat when browning it and so on.
The photo is a batch of Tex Mex Lasagna in my own slow cooker I made this past Sunday.
(I had 2 odd lasagna noodles left over I just plopped on top, I think working them into the layers would be better.)

Tex Mex Lasagna
Ingredients
1 lb lean (at least 80% ) ground beef (or ground turkey or chicken)
1 can (15oz) Pinto beans, drained & rinsed
1 package low-sodium Taco seasoning mix
1 jar (16 oz) Thick & Chunky Salsa
1 small (8oz) can reduced-sodium tomato sauce
1 jar (16oz) Alfredo pasta sauce
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or Mexican Cheese)
1 box Lasagna noodles (16 noodles are required)

 Directions:
1)  In a skillet: cook ground meat over med-high heat stirring constantly until brown; drain any grease. Stir in Pinto beans & Taco seasoning mix.

2)  Prepare slow-cooker by spraying with an oil spray and setting on low to warm it up. Spread 3/4 cup of Salsa over bottom of slow cooker. Then stir remaining Salsa along with the 8 oz can of tomato sauce into the meat mixture.

3)  In a small bowl: mix Alfredo sauce with 3 cups of shredded cheese, reserving last cup for later.

4)  Layering: Layer 4 Lasagna noodles over Salsa on bottom of Slow Cooker, breaking as necessary to fit. Top with half of Alfredo-cheese mix, spreading evenly. Top with 4 more noodles. Top with 1/2 of meat sauce from skillet, spreading evenly. Top with 4 noodles and remaining Aflredo-cheese sauce. Top with final 4 noodles, then rest of meat sauce. 

5) Cover; cook on low setting 4 to 5 hours. (I used 5 hours and that seemed perfect.) 

6)  At end of cooking time, remove lid and sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheese over top. Replace cover and cook 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Turn off slow-cooker. Uncover and let stand 10 minutes before serving. I found it helpful to run a knife through it "cutting" it roughly into portions, which made it easier to scoop out--it's deep dish Lasagna!
Makes approx 8 servings--with room for seconds.
Be sure to put out extra Salsa & sour cream!
****
I served mine with salad & garlic bread. It was yum!
I only served 5 people and there was enough for seconds for everyone PLUS I still two servings leftover for Hubby and me the next day for dinner. 
****
Eat up, me hearties, yo-ho!

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment!

Popular posts from this blog

Good Eating Monday: Apple Cranberry Sausage Stuffing!

-
Image
Now this some wicked good dressing!  I tried it for Thanksgiving this year and everyone loved it! I've been looking for just the right dressing and I may have finally found it!  It's also healthy with a tasty combo of fruit, veggies and a mix of white & whole wheat bakery breads. It will fill a  fill a 9 x 13 pan.  You can use fresh or dried herbs. I've included the measurements for both. Just remember dried seasoning is more concentrated in flavor because it is dried, so you need less of it then fresh herbs. I have fresh Parsley growing outside and this was a great use for it! I found leftover over stuffing wonderful heated up and topped with a over-easy egg for lunch!  Apple Cranberry Sausage Stuffing Ingredients:  5 1/2 cups fresh European style or sourdough bread, white, sliced and cubed 2 1/2 cups wheat bread, whole grain sliced and cubed 1 lb ground pork or turkey ( I used Jimmy Dean's Turkey Crumbles, which was 8 oz and that worked great! ) 1 1/2
Read more

Good Eating Monday: Peach Cobbler Dump Cake!

-
Image
Yes, I tried another new Pinterest recipe and this one is a winner! The primary dictionary definition of a "Dump Cake," is an easily made cobbler in which cake mix is dumped over canned fruit or pie filling.  This recipe was pinned from Del Monte, which means it's been a recipe that's been created & tested in a corporate test kitchen. That's one benefit of all those label, can & box recipes provided by manufacturers on their product packaging. You can even buy cookbooks featuring nothing, but package & label recipes of which many are vintage. The only changes I'd suggest is add one more 15 oz can of fruit. It can be more peaches, cherry fruit cocktail, regular fruit cocktail or whatever you want. (So, I've noted 4 cans of peaches in the recipe.)   It just needs a little more volume on the fruit quantity.  And stir a teaspoon or two of cinnamon into the fruit! Otherwise, this is an excellent, quick dessert you can serve hot with v
Read more

Good Eating Monday: Old Fashioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding!

-
Image
Welcome to the first week of February! It's supposed to be 31 degrees tonight, so after cleaning up the front walk beds, I went around covering various things that either are blooming, about to bloom or that have sensitive leaf buds, like my hydrangea's.  I picked all the yellow daffodils and brought them inside for a cheerful vase on my counter. For Garden Pic Wednesday this week I have an excellent photo of a pine tree flower! You didn't know pine trees flower?  Well, you'll have to stop back for a look! Today's Good Eating Recipe is a family favorite my Mother used to make often for us as kids: Old Fashioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding! What Old Fashioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding Looks Like This is just your basic wholesome old fashioned bread pudding made with just eggs, bread, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar & raisins! No sauces to make. Just simple bread pudding. We'd eat it hot with a little evaporated milk poured over the top.
Read more

Garden Pic Wednesday: Ajuga & Lettuce Crop

-
Image
T oday's Garden Pic is a nice January shot of some Common Ajuga draping over the edge of a large container out front & my bumper crop of lettuce Ajuga: It's a ground cover with a burgundy tinge to it's leaves. It reaches it's best color in shade, but can tolerate light sun. This Ajuga just gets morning sun. It throws runners like a strawberry does, spreading along the ground. It's reaching for the ground and will establish once it touches around the shady side of the stump the container sits on. It's a member of the mint family.  My Winter Crop of Lettuce: This is a french head lettuce I got ordered from Seed Savers for spring 2021. It went to seed in May 2021, then dozens popped up around Sept. I separated them, this whole 4 x 8 raised bed with them. I dined on fresh crisp lettuce all winter! I've left 2 to go to seed on one end of the raised bed, so can have lettuce all winter again!  I've joined a group a ladies in a Book Club that meets once a mo
Read more