Taco Lasagna!

Layers of soft corn tortillas, seasoned beef and rice, and two cheeses - cheddar and mozzarella. Imagine if lasagna and tacos had a baby...It's a culinary dream come true.

This is way more than a twist on lasagna: instead of noodles, I used corn tortillas, instead of ricotta cheese or bolognese sauce, I used taco-seasoned beef and rice, and instead of mozzarella and parmesan, I used cheddar and mozzarella. OK, so mozzarella is the only similarity!

Kids and adults love this dish, and you can assemble it up to 24 hours in advance and bake it just before serving.

Taco Lasagna

Cooking spray
1 pound lean ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning, divided
1 cup tomato sauce (if you're in a pinch, marinara sauce works too)
1 cup cooked white or brown rice
8-10 soft corn tortillas, cut into 4 wedges each
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray.
Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the fat and return the beef to the pan. Add all but 1 teaspoon of the taco seasoning and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rice.
Arrange some of the tortilla wedges in the bottom of the prepared pan, slightly overlapping to cover the surface. Top the tortillas with half of the beef mixture and spread out in an even layer. Top with more tortilla wedges, slightly overlapping to cover the beef mixture. Top with 1/2 cup of the cheddar and 1/4 cup of the mozzarella.
Repeat layers: remaining beef mixture and remaining tortilla wedges. Sprinkle the reserved taco seasoning over top. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
Let stand 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serves 4