Saturday I tried a new "recipe". It was for "Mexican lasagna". One of those quick and dirty, cheap things. I don't usually do this sort of thing but I have a case of Old El Paso refried beans with sausage that I'm looking for ways to use up and I thought it might hit the spot. However, it turns out that cheap, it was not. Has anyone priced ricotta cheese lately? Sheesh. Even the store brand was high, I thought, and the good stuff was ridculous.
Okay, so I layered corn tortillas with the beans, salsa, and ricotta. Made about 4 layers in a 9x13 pan. The recipe called for putting sour cream in the top layer but I thought I'd prefer to use it later as a topping for each portion. It tasted pretty good. Could have used a little more salsa. I should have bought a bigger jar. Anyway, gourmet it's not but it's filling and not too bad.
Then yesterday I invited a friend over and made pizzas. She topped hers with olive oil, basil, fresh mozzarella, and tomatoes. I made my favorite combo with homemade ranch-style dressing, mixed Mexican shredded cheeses, diced baked potato, dice red bell pepper, and something new, some diced fresh poblano chile (I bought it on impulse while shopping for the other ingredients). Was delicious as usual. Made another of each later after she left to use up the dough. Will have them reheated (not cold! blecch! ;-)) tonight and tomorrow night. Yum!
Kate
