Dos de Mayo

I have been in a frenzy of yogurt creation lately.  Yesterday I made a double batch of it - which by the way cannot happen again until I get a larger sieve, because it was a little scary pouring the yogurt in there this morning.  Also I can't make any more until I get a new candy thermometer.  Mine took the whopping 4-inch fall from the side of my pan onto the stove and shattered.  Cheap crap.  I was a little heartbroken but I guess I will have to add that to my kitchen supply wish list, along with a larger strainer! Anyway, in addition to the yogurt, I also made another fruit mix-in last night.  I found in our freezer a bag of frozen berries: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, so I made what I am calling the quadruple fruit mix-in.  Haven't gotten to try it yet, but I am looking forward to it tomorrow morning for breakfast with some of my new yogurt :)  My last batch was delicious, and the sauce and yogurt were both devoured in less than 24 hours!

Tonight, I had a plan for dinner, but couldn't find any of the ingredients I needed in Westminster, and I was too lazy to go to Gardner, so I changed my plan and went with Mexican lasagna.  I figured that, with the busy next three days I have, this is our last chance to celebrate Cinco de Mayo before the actual day!  We can call it Dos de Mayo.  I had made this before a month or so ago and it was a big hit.  It was a big hit tonight too!  It is really quick to throw together - and it has fresh cilantro.  You know how I feel about fresh cilantro.  Serve it with some Mexican rice and you have an excellent meal on your hands.  I highly recommend it.

Recipe:
from Annie's Eats, adapted from A Couple Cooks

Mexican Lasagna

Yield: about 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1½ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
4-5 green onions, chopped
½ cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
¾ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. cumin
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
9-12 no-boil lasagna noodles
8 oz. shredded Mexican blend cheese 

Directions

1)  Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Have a 9 x 9-inch baking dish ready. In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, green onions, cilantro, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, and salt.

2) Spread a thin layer of tomatoes over the bottom of the baking dish (approximately one fifth of the total amount). Layer with a 3-4 lasagna noodles, breaking them as needed to fit the pan.

3) On top of the layer of noodles, spread about one third of the bean mixture. Layer evenly with about one quarter of the remaining tomatoes. Sprinkle with one quarter of the cheese.

4) Repeat the layering process two times more (noodles, beans, tomatoes, cheese, noodles, beans, tomatoes, cheese). The last layer will be noodles, tomatoes, and cheese. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 35-45 minutes, or until noodles are tender and cooked through. Remove the foil from the top and bake 5 minutes more, until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Mexican Lasagna

It is no secret that I hate lasagna.  I've always hated it.  It has a negative connotation for me and my family. Ever since I was 16 and Dad had his first hospitalization, people have brought us lasagnas.  There was one time that we had literally 7 lasagnas in our house, overflowing the fridge and freezers.  It was horrible.  Lasagna makes me depressed, and I also hate ground beef, which seems to appear in far too many of them. 

Kenzie is excited for lasagna (and Mark's margaritas and caprese salad!)

So: it may be shocking to hear that I made a lasagna tonight for dinner!  I found the recipe on my favorite food blog, and it has never steered me wrong before.  It was a Mexican lasagna, with fresh cilantro.  As I have mentioned, I am in love with fresh cilantro these days.  I think it totally makes every dish that it appears in.  To top it off, this recipe was vegetarian!  It had black beans and corn instead of hamburger meat (AKA pink slime these days).  Vegetarian and fresh cilantro?  I was hooked.

Halfway gone...

I think it is always a good sign when I make a meal and the entire thing goes!  Especially when said meal is vegetarian, and my family always whines about that.  Luckily, this was delicious!  The cilantro obviously made everything else taste fresh and fabulous, and the black beans, corn and scallions were a far better filling than pink slime and ricotta.  I am still impressed that we ate the whole thing!  I am a bit sad that I won't be eating leftovers at lunch tomorrow,  but I will focus on being happy that everyone liked my dinner  :) 

Recipe:
Mexican lasagna