Long time no post

I have photos of food that I wanted to post, I just haven't gotten around to it lately. Bad blogger, bad! Along with moving, I've also been preparing things ahead of time for when Tyler's family comes to our place for dinner on Boxing Day and making homemade gifts for people. I know- excuses, excuses. I will have lots to share after the holidays though- the food and gifts I made will be posted.

Today I have a Tex-Mex lasagna that I made last week. I had started to follow a recipe for a casserole, but it morphed into this lasagna and it turned out great!

TEX-MEX LASAGNA

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/3 can tomato soup
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 tbsp adobo sauce (the sauce from a can of chipotle peppers)
• 4 oz (about 1/2 a tub) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• zest of 1 lime
• 2 cups grated cheese
• 12 fresh or dried lasagna noodles (if using dried pour about 1/2 cup water over lasagna before putting in the oven)

Lasagna filling: Saute onion, pepper, garlic with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until softened. Add black beans, stir to warm through. Add coriander, cumin, white pepper, salt and black pepper. Stir to combine and toast the spices a little. Add soup, salsa, cream cheese, sour cream. Stir until simmering and cream cheese is melted through. Add lime zest, stir to combine and turn off heat.

To assemble the lasagna: Spread 1/2 cup of the filling in the bottom of the lasagna pan. Place 4 noodles on top. Spread 1/3 of filling over noodles. Top with 1/3 of the grated cheese. Repeat layers 2 more times. Cover with foil, bake approx. 30 minutes, or until it feels cooked through when a knife inserted in the middle.

**In the photo I topped the lasagna with crispy tortilla pieces after baking. This was a bad idea- it didn't add anything to the flavor or texture because they got soft anyways.