Mary Anne's Cinco de Mayo Lasagna Casserole - KTUL.com - Tulsa, Oklahoma - News, Weather & Sports

Mary Anne's Cinco de Mayo Lasagna Casserole

Why not throw a Cinco de Mayo fiesta on May 5th for your family and guests! This dish can be prepared ahead of time leaving you to enjoy your guests. It freezes well and is perfect for easy family dinners throughout the year!

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 pound ground Italian sausage, mild, sweet, or hot, your choice

1 medium onion, diced small

1 teaspoon cumin

2-3 garlic cloves, minced, more if desired

2 (10 ounce) cans enchilada sauce

1 (8-ounce) cream cheese

1 small can diced mild or hot green chiles, drained

1 small can sliced jalapenos, drained, divided, optional, less if desired

1 (2 1/2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained

8-10 (6 inch) tortillas, torn and divided

4 cups cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese mixture, shredded, less if desired

4-5 green onions, trimmed and sliced

Toppings, optional:

Picante sauce

Salsa

Sour cream

Cheese

Green onions, trimmed and sliced

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray with a non-vegetable spray (Pam) a 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Set aside.
• In a large skillet or pan sauté' ground beef, sausage, onion, cumin and garlic. Drain off fat. Place mixture back in the skillet and add the cans of enchilada sauce, cream cheese, green chiles, 1/4 cup of the black olives, and, if using, half of the sliced jalapenos. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low stirring occasionally. Simmer about five minutes.
• Spoon half of the meat mixture on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cover with half of the torn tortillas. Sprinkle with half of cheese. Sprinkle with half of green onion. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with remaining black olives, green onion and, if using, the remaining jalapenos. Cover with aluminum foil sprayed with non-vegetable spray (Pam).
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Place foil back on dish to keep it warm. Let sit about five minutes before slicing.
• Serve with toppings if desired or by itself. To complete your fiesta, you can serve your family and guests, mango margaritas, chunky guacamole appetizer, Spanish rice, refried beans and a scrumptious Kahlua flan for dessert.

Serves 6 – 8. Ole'

Note: This casserole will freeze well; cover with sprayed aluminum foil and place in two- gallon zip-lock bag. Place in freezer. Defrost several hours in the refrigerator before baking it to get it to room temperature.

Note: For a change-of-pace, you can add a can of drained black beans to the meat mixture. You can also substitute two layers of crumbled Doritos in place of the tortillas. Or, you can add a thin layer of picante sauce on top of the cheese layer and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.