This is a beautiful dish. Pure Mexican comfort food! It has so many layers of flavors and pretty colors. For a complete meal, serve with Mexican rice and cornbread.

Southwestern Lasagna

1 pound ground chuck
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 (4 ounce) can green chilis
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 (10 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies, lime juice and cilantro, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (20 to 28 ounce) can red enchilada sauce (depending on how much sauce you like)
12- six inch, taco size flour or corn tortillas
3 cups Mexican cheese blend
Garnishes: Sour cream, salsa, diced tomatoes, guacamole, and cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Brown ground chuck with red onion in a large skillet. Drain mixture to remove any grease. Return to same skillet and add spices. Heat 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat to bloom the spices. Stir in green chilis, diced tomatoes with green chilies; fire roasted tomatoes, and black beans. Set aside. Cut 12 tortillas in half with a knife.

Layer southwestern lasagna in a 9 X 13-inch glass or ceramic rectangular baking dish in the following order. Place 1/4 can of red enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 X 13-inch glass or ceramic dish. Place flat side of 2 tortilla halves along each side of the dish (4 halves total) on both 13-inch sides. Tear 4 more halves filling in the blank spaces. Spoon half of meat mixture evenly over flour tortillas. Top with 1 cup Mexican cheese blend. Repeat process to make the second layer. After you have two layers. Place one more layer of tortillas and top with remaining 1/2 can enchilada sauce. Reserve remaining 1 cup cheese for later.

Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes on 350ºF. The lasagna should be bubbling. Remove foil from lasagna and top with remaining 1 cup cheese. Cook 10 to 15 minutes to melt cheese. Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes before cutting. Serve with sour cream, salsa, diced tomatoes, guacamole, and cilantro leaves. Can be made one day in advance and refrigerated before cooking. Set lasagna on kitchen counter 30 minutes before baking and increase cooking time to account for ingredients being cold.
TIP: I sometimes layer sour cream on top of the first layer.