Healthy Mexican Lasagna (GF and Vegetarian Possibilities)

My sister came to visit this past weekend and we had a wonderful time.  We don't get to see one another very often because we live about 5 hours apart and are both very busy.  When we do get together, we have lots of fun laughing, having serious sister talks and just enjoying time together!  Of course, since I love to cook, I asked her what she wanted to eat while visiting.  Her response was "Something healthy and spicy".   As I began looking through what we had in the pantry and also some recipes, I decided on a Mexican Lasagna.  My sister and I both love spicy things and pretty much anything that has black beans, corn and salsa in it!   I have seen a few different recipes for this, but this is what we ended up with.

Healthy Mexican Lasagna with Tortillas

What you will need:
10 inch Spring Form Pan (A round baking dish of any type will work)
4 9" Tortillas (More needed if they are smaller)

Sauce:
1 Medium Onion-Diced
1 Bell Pepper-Diced
1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3 Cans Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles
3 Tbsp. Salsa
Dash of cayenne pepper--More if you like spicy!
2 Cups Shredded Chicken (Optional/Can be substituted with ground meat as well)

Filling:
2 Cans Corn (Drained)
2 Cans Black Beans (Drained and Rinsed)
2 Cups plus 1/3 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (Many kinds of cheese would work)

Recipe Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, saute the diced onions and peppers with the garlic and olive oil.  This will take about 10 minutes. Then add the 3 cans of diced tomatoes and green chiles, 3 Tbsp. of Salsa, cayenne pepper and chicken.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Once cooked, scoop 1/3 cup of the sauce into a separate bowl for the top of the lasagna--we will call this the reserve.

While the sauce is cooking, drain and rinse the corn and black beans and mix together in a bowl.  Add 2 cups of shredded cheese and mix together.

Place your spring form pan on a cookie sheet and scoop 1/2 C of the filling into the bottom of the pan. Place a tortilla layer, then scoop 1/3 of the remaining filling onto the tortilla and cover that with 1/3 of the sauce.  Place the second tortilla layer, then scoop 1/2 of the remaining filling onto the tortilla and cover that with 1/2 of the remaining sauce.  Place the third tortilla layer, then scoop the remaining filling onto the tortilla and cover that with the remaining sauce.  Finally place the fourth tortilla layer, cover that with the sauce reserve and the 1/3 cup of shredded cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes.

To serve, cut like a pizza into 8 or 10 pieces, then remove the spring form side ring and you will be able to see all of the beautiful layers you made!

Notes:
Prep Ahead:  This recipe could easily be prepared the day ahead and kept in the refrigerator or made  to be frozen for later enjoyment!  Just remember to cover tightly!
Easy Gluten Free:  To make this recipe gluten free, you can use corn tortillas!  Everything else is already gluten free!
Easy Vegetarian:  This recipe has a lot of protein with the black beans in it, so to make it vegetarian, you can simply omit the meat!

***This recipe adapted from http://sugarandspice-celeste.blogspot.com/2012/01/mexican-lasagne.html