Good evening everyone!
We’ve had a busy day once again! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. :D
Some of you were very close to guessing what I made for dinner last night!
I made a 7-Layer Tortilla Pie! (aka Mexican Lasagna)
It was sooo delicious. I made a few modifications to the recipe (as per usual!) My modifications are in brackets next to the ingredients:
INGREDIENTS
- 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup salsa, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I didn’t have any, but this would be a nice addition)
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 7 (8 inch) flour tortillas (I used Tomato Basil and Spinach Tortillas for a nice flaviour)
- 2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup sour cream (I used low-fat)
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- In a large bowl, mash pinto beans. Stir in 3/4 cup salsa and garlic.
- In a separate bowl, mix together 1/4 cup salsa, cilantro, black beans and tomatoes.
- Place 1 tortilla in a pie plate or tart dish. Spread 3/4 cup pinto bean mixture over tortilla to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top with 1/4 cup cheese, and cover with another tortilla. Spread with 2/3 cup black bean mixture, and top with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layering twice. Cover with remaining tortilla, and spread with remaining pinto bean mixture and cheese.
- Cover with foil, and bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes. Cut into wedges, and serve with salsa and sour cream.
It was really yummy. It is vegetarian but you could always add ground beef or chicken to it. However, Eric and our friend Steve, who are meat lovers, couldn’t even notice that this was meat free!
Steve said, “I think we should call this Mexican Lasagna“…so Mexican Lasagna it is! :D
You could make it healthier by reducing the cheese and adding more veggies. I think next time I will add red peppers and zucchini to it.
We ate in front of the TV with a beer watching the Leafs Hockey game! :D A fun, casual mini-housewarming.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gym vs. Home Gyms:
After going back to the two gyms in my area, I have decided that instead of a gym membership I am going to buy a treadmill.
Since I am training for a half-marathon, I would really like to follow a marathon training program, and really focus on building up my runs. Eric and I found a really good treadmill today so I think we are going to purchase it tomorrow! It has lifetime warranty on all parts, so we figure it is a worthwhile investment. The gym memberships are so much money nowadays- over $500 a year– so I figure the treadmill is a good investment piece that we can add to our home gym (which consists of a weight bench, stability ball, matt, ab roller, free weights, and a jumping rope right now).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are getting a snow storm tonight, but I am not sure how much is accumulating as it is pretty icy stuff falling from the sky.
Have a great night!!! :D
Don’t be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin.
~Grace Hansen
i opted not to join a gym this year as well! i’m pretty sure i can find many better ways to spend 50+ dollars per month PLUS i found the people at the gym near work to be super superficial/snobby/and mostly concerned about looking good while working out than actually working out. i got a trainer to hook my bike up to and we have an elliptical in the basement (along with mat, weight bench, and free weights for strength workouts). i definitely feel like the gym is kind of a waste of money for me and not even something that i really enjoy going to! good luck with the treadmill. i am loving my bike trainer that i got for 150$ at the bike show! that’s 3 months of membership for many years of indoor training.
Hi Sissy….WOW that “mexican lasagna” looks awesome! What a great idea!!! I love, love, love your blog! So fun and informative. I’d expect nothing less from my lil sis! I want to but a treadmill too. I hate driving to the gym and all the people that come with it :) Too much competition….who looks better, dresses better, runs longer…NO THANKS! xo
I’ve been debating getting a treadmill too… we don’t really have the space now but we’re moving in April so maybe then :) Can’t wait to hear how it works out for you!
I have a treadmill here at my parent’s house and it’s the best thing ever! I don’t know what I am going to do when I move out next month.
I love the Mexican lasagna. It looks so sinfully delicious.
¡Olé!
I think buying a treadmill is a great idea. Although you don’t get the variety in equipment that a gym offers, the convenience factor is a huge benefit. I love having a treadmill to just hop onto whenever I feel so inclined. Definitely worth it.
And that Mexican lasagna looks scrumptious. I’ll have to give it a try.
I think you’ll be happy you’re getting a treadmill. I’ve been wanting one for years, but we don’t have space for it in our small apartment right now.
Enjoy your treadmill. I always found gyms worth the investment, NYC averages around $2.50 a day when you break it down. However, it is great to have a treadmill, so you are able to work out anytime, not have to drive. Definitely a huge time saver and convenience! Your pie looks amazing!
I’m TOTALLY stealing this recipe… it looks AWESOME!
That Mexican lasagna looks good, I noticed you were vegetarian here. What made you change to vegan–health/animals?
I am really consider being a vegan instead of vegetarian, I just don’t know how it would be when I go overseas. I have the “travel bug” and it seems that being vegan overseas could be difficult?