A to Z Challenge: V is for...

Ah, the letter V.
Now, I could be all cool and writerly and talk about "voice", but I'm not feeling cool or writerly. :)



Instead, V is for: Vegetarian!



I am not a vegetarian--although I think I easily could be. (The dang meatarian family is holding me back) But I try to cook a few meatless meals a week. Anyway, as I was cleaning out various drawers I found some recipes that I had cut out of the newspaper. (They were yellow so it had been a while)
There was a recipe for Mexican Vegetarian Lasagna so I decided to make it. It was great! In fact, it's even better the next day.


So here it is:

cooking spray
5 large flour tortillas (10-inch)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 large egg
16 ounces regular sour cream
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided use
1 bunch green onion (for 1/2 cup chopped)
1 (2 1/4 ounce) can sliced black olives (optional)
Change Measurements: US Metric

Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 1 1/4 hr
1 Preheat the oven to 400 F; Spray a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking oil spray; Set aside.
2 Stack the tortillas on a cutting board, and slice through them lengthwise into 3 strips each (The strips will not be uniform because of their circular shape; This is OK) Set aside.
3 Pour the corn and black beans into a colander, and rinse with warm tap water to begin defrosting the corn and rinse the beans; Set aside to drain.
4 In a small bowl, stir together the tomatoes with their juice, the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and sugar; Spoon about half of the sauce into the bottom of the dish; Cover the sauce with 5 of the tortilla strips (it's fine if they overlap somewhat).
5 Break the egg into a medium-size mixing bowl, and beat with a whisk or fork until foamy; Add the sour cream and 1 cup of the cheese; Stir to mix well; Spoon half of the sour cream mixture evenly over the tortilla layer and spread it out with the back of a spoon; Scatter half of the corn and black beans over the sour cream mixture.
6 Place 5 more tortilla strips evenly over the corn and black bean layer; Top with the remaining sour cream mixture, and the remaining black beans and corn; Place the remaining tortilla strips over the dish; Pour the remaining tomato sauce mixture over the tortillas, and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon to moisten all of the tortilla strips.
7 Cover the dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
8 While the dish bakes, rinse and trim the green onions; Slice the green onions thinly, using all of the whites and enough of the tender green tops to make 1/2 cup; Set aside.
9 If using the black olives, drain them well, and set aside.
10 After baking lasagna, scatter the green onions and olives, if using, evenly over the dish; Return the dish to the oven, uncovered, for 5 more minutes.
11 Remove the dish from the oven, and scatter the remaining cup of Mexican cheese evenly over the dish.
12 Return the dish, uncovered, to the oven, and bake until the cheese melts, about 3 minutes.
13 Remove the lasagna from the oven, and let it stand 10 minutes; Slice into squares and serve.

**The kiddo especially loved this meal!

Do you cook vegetarian? Any good recipes you'd like to share?