Even though I’m 147 years old, I still learn valuable lessons every single day. Today’s lesson actually concerns my dinner last night. I made Mexican Lasagne and it was very tasty. But lesson learned - No matter how delicious you think smothering Mexican Lasagne with green Habanero Sauce might be (and it was), it makes for a very “FIREY” morning wakeup call. Smokin’!! Okay. I’m just warning ya’ll now.

My next recipe came from my constant, insatiable desire for Mexican food and my children being so BORED with Mexican that they won’t go with me anymore to our local Mexican restaurant. I’ve burned them out. They shudder when I mention it. They’re always like, “Agaaaaiiinnnn?” (Cuz if I DO go out, that’s where I most times want to go) So in my craving for the spicy last night, I started rummaging through my recipes and found my standby Mexican Lasagne. . . only I didn’t have all the proper ingredients. That’s when I decided to just wing it. Mexican dishes are very flexible. I like that! You can substitute till your heart’s content and it will STILL taste yummy and delicious.

This recipe isn’t technically my regular Mexican Lasagne, but rather a variation of ingredients that I had on hand at the time. It’s fun to experiment and Mexican food is the easiest in the world to experiment with. Here’s what I used:

Mexican Lasagne . . . Donna Style

2 lb. hamburger meat - or chorizo or a mix of both
1 onion, chopped - or onion powder
1 can Rotel, drained - or diced tomatoes
1 can Pinto Beans, drained - or black beans
1 can El Pato Tomato Sauce - or any Mexican flavored tomato sauce
1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing - optional
1 pkg Taco Seasoning Mix - or chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper
6 flour tortillas
2 cups sour cream
2 pkgs Mexican Style shredded cheese - or any cheese you like

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown your meat and onion; drain. Add Rotel, tomato sauce, beans, dressing and taco seasoning mix; mix well. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Layer three of the tortillas in a single layer on the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Next, layer half of the meat mixture, then sour cream, then cheese. Repeat with the tortillas, meat, sour cream and finish with the cheese layer.
Cover with foil and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese is golden. Let stand for 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

You can see how flexible this can be. Almost as flexible as Gumby. There’s nothing set in stone here is all I’m trying to say. It’s almost impossible to screw this up. No matter what ingredients you use, it will still taste good.

However, my warning comes when you don’t think you added enough spiciness to the dish and you slather it with green Habanero Sauce. I heart this stuff.

You will PAY in the morning in ways you never would imagine.

What is YOUR favorite kind of food? Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Thai, German, Scottish, Greek, you name it?