After making a turkey, our home is stocked with leftovers for weeks. But rather than turn to just reheating them night after night, I try to keep things fresh by finding new and interesting ways to use them in our meal plans. Sometimes that means we have turkey salad sandwiches and sometimes that means an odd, yet somewhat familiar casserole-like dish emerges from the oven shortly before it's time to sit down at the table:
That's a delightful blend of two of my favorite dishes: lasagna and tacos. Instead of using noodles, flour tortilla stand in to make this dish incredibly quick and simple to assemble. Then let the oven do the rest of the work for you. A half hour later, you can have this on your plate:
The filling is merely the result of what I had on hand and happen to like filling my tacos. You can choose your own favorites: black beans, spicy peppers, steak, and/or tofu. It's all invited to the fusion party going on here. You will definitely want to allow this dish to rest at room temperature for a bit before slicing and serving it. In fact, a half hour of resting would be much better than five minutes! Go on, make yourself a margarita while you wait!
Turkey Taco Lasagna
- 1 T. bacon fat or other cooking fat
- 1 tsp. southwestern seasoning (choose your favorite variety)
- 1 lb. diced, cooked turkey
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 c. chopped sweet pepper (multiple colors are nice)
- 2/3 c. corn kernels
- 1 (14 oz.) can salsa style roasted tomatoes/li>
- 3 (8-inch) flour tortillas
- 1 c. grated cheese
- 1/4 c. sliced green onions
In a medium skillet, heat the cooking fat until melted and hot. Add the seasoning, diced turkey, chopped onion, minced garlic, chopped pepper, and corn; stir well to evenly coat everything with the seasoning and fat. Add the tomatoes (undrained) and stir well again. Remove from the heat.
Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray and place an 8-inch flour tortilla in the bottom of the dish. Spoon about half of the turkey mixture over the tortilla and then carefully place another tortilla over the top of the turkey mixture in the pan. Spoon the remainder of the turkey mixture over that tortilla and place the final tortilla over the top of the turkey mixture. Sprinkle the top of the final tortilla evenly with the grated cheese and green onions.
Bake the assembled dish in an oven that's been preheated to 350° F for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Allow the dish to rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before slicing into servings.
- Yields: 6 servings
- Preparation Time: 45 minutes