Mexican Casserole

Thanks to Santa (otherwise known as my sister) I received a years subscription to Cooking Light. I was super excited to see a Mexican Casserole in the vegetarian section but needed to make a few changes since "meatless, fat free crumbles" were a main ingredient. Yeah, no thanks. You think meat is processed? You should see the ingredient list for those "crumbles". I also made a few other directional changes that turned out really well.

The only thing I wasn't super crazy about was the tortilla chips. Since we re-heat our food everyday (I make everything on Sunday and we eat throughout the week), the chips got a bit mushy. While it wasn't a huge deal nor did it take away from the rest of the awesome taste, I just thought it deserved a heads up. Also, this isn't super spicy so you might want to throw in some diced chili's or more jalapeno pepper, complete with seeds.

Side Note: For our fans out there who have families and/or husbands who won't eat healthy food, they seriously won't be able to tell this is healthy. I promise.

Side Note Part Deux: I wasn't about to sit and count out 48 chips. I wasn't going to use the extras anyhow so I crushed them in the bag and then eyeballed what looked right.

Mexican Casserole

Serves 6

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 package (1.25lb) lean ground turkey

48 baked tortilla chips

2 cans beans (either pinto, black or a combo of the two), rinsed and drained

1tbsp fresh lime juice

2 cups chopped plum tomato's

1/4tsp salt

1 cup low fat cheese (mexican blend, monterey jack, whatever you want)

1 bunch of chopped green onions

1 small can chopped olives

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Heat 2 tsp oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and turkey until turkey is just cooked. Add garlic and jalapeno, cook one minute. Add in chili powder and black pepper, cook another 3 minutes or heated through. Arrange a thin layer of chips in a 11x7 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top evenly with onion, turkey mixture.

Heat remaining 2 tsp oil in skillet over medium heat. Add beans, mashing with the back of a wooden spoon until chunky and thick. Cook 2 minutes or until heated, stirring constantly. Stir in lime juice

Combine tomato's and salt. Layer beans and tomato mixture on top of the turkey mixture. Top with remaining tortilla chips. Sprinkle evenly with cheese, green onions and olives. Bake for 13 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.