Southwestern Lasagna

This is one of my favorite recipes to eat and one of Jamie's favorites to make. Just think, I "poo-poo'd it" (Jamie's phrase for me snubbing something) the first time he made it, but now it is one of my favorites.

Southwestern Lasagna

1 jar bottled salsa (I use medium,use mild if you do not like spice... you may also experiment with various salsas to vary the flavor)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (14.5-ounce) can no diced tomatoes (if you don't like chunks of tomatoes, I would suggest petite diced tomatoes)
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
Cooking spray
6 precooked lasagna noodles (you may also use tortillas cut into quarters)
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed (you can use drained canned corn instead if you have it on hand)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups (8 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese (I usually use cheese that I have- it varies from cheddar, monteray jack, colby, pepperjack, etc.... I shred it myself to save money and to burn calories)
cilantro
sour cream

Preheat oven to 450°.
Combine first 4 ingredients; spread 2/3 cup sauce (or there-abouts) in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; top with 1/2 cup corn and half of beans. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese; top with 2/3 cup sauce (or there-abouts). Repeat layers; top with 2 noodles. Repeat this sequence once. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Cover and bake at 450° for 30 - 40 minutes or until noodles are tender and sauce is bubbly. (**Tip: the sauce tends to drip over to the bottom of the oven, burns and then smells like it burned, so I suggest you put a cookie tray underneath to catch any droppings- but be advised, it will take a little longer to cook. Last time I made this dish, it took about 50 minutes to throughly cook on the cookie tray).

Let stand 15 minutes. Top with sour cream and sprinkle with fresh cilantro (if you like cilantro)

If you do not serve the entire dish, then I suggest that you divide it into tuperware containers and save for later. You can even put the tuperware into the freezer and save it for later.

A nice complement to this recipe is the guacamole recipe and blue corn chips in one of my previous posts. It is nice to have a nibbly while you (or your guests) wait for the lasagna to cook. Also, margaritas are a fun twist... if you think margaritas are too sour or you are looking for a fun twist, try adding a splash of Madori (melon liquor). It is a little pricy ($25-$30 per bottle), but remember a little goes a long way... plus, it gives your drink a fun light green coloring.