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Eliminate meat from dishes and you end up with cheap alternatives:
Mexican Lasagna:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large sweet, white, or yellow onion, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can refried beans
1 can black beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes (recommended: Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes), drained
1 can taco sauce (recommended: El Pato)
salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and cumin to taste
8 tortillas
1-2 cups of cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, jack, colby-jack, whatever)
green chiles for topping, optional
Start by heating a large pan on medium-high. Coat the bottom with the vegetable oil. When the pan is hot, add the onions. Saute until soft. Add garlic to softened onions. Season with salt and pepper. Add can of refried beans; lower heat. Heat beans through before adding can of well-drained black beans. Mix and heat through again. Then add can of diced tomatoes and taco sauce; heat mixture thoroughly.
Begin assembling lasagna by placing a bit of the hot mixture in the bottom of a square or rectangular baking dish (if you use a square baking dish, your lasagna will stack more vertically--it's really a matter of preference). Top with tortilla cut to fit (cut tortilla in half, and trim top and bottom to fit dish size) and a sprinkle of cheese. Put more filling on top of cheese, and repeat tortilla/cheese step. Repeat assembly until dish is full or mixture is gone. You can make the layers as thick or thin as you like (I like them thin) and use as much cheese as you like. Finish the top with another layer of tortilla, cheese, and then green chiles if you like a good kick. Serve with sour cream or guacamole if you prefer.
I enjoy this recipe because you can adjust it to your budgetary needs.
Vegetarian Chili:
1 sweet, yellow, or white onion, cut into large chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 envelope chili seasoning
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
Saute onion in large pot on medium-high heat. Cook until soft; add garlic; season with salt and pepper. Saute one minute more before adding well-drained diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chili seasoning. Heat through before adding well-drained kidney beans, black beans, and corn. Stir the mixture together before lowering the heat. Allow mixture to cook on stovetop for fifteen minutes or so on low heat, letting the flavors combine. Serve with cornbread or Fritos. Chili can also be topped with cheese or additional onion.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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