Wok's For Dinner: South of the Border Lasagna

My inspiration for this meal came from a small recipe book, Simple Recipes, that I got for free from Comet Rice several months ago. I made some adjustments based on what was in the house and our family's tastes, so I didn't follow the recipe to a "T."

Here's what I made:

South of the Border Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning

1/4 cup water

1 cup uncooked rice

nonstick cooking spray

1 cup sour cream

1 can (16oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips

Directions:

Brown ground beef in skillet; drain grease, then return browned ground beef to skillet. Add and stir in taco seasoning and water; simmer about 5 minutes then remove from heat. Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions. Mix ground beef mixture with sour cream. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Layer bottom of baking dish with 1/2 of the cooked rice. Spread 1/2 of the sour cream/ground beef mixture over the rice. Layer 1/2 cup of cheese over the ground beef mixture, then all of of the black beans. Add remaining rice, then remaining sour cream/ground beef mixture. Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove and discard foil. Spread crushed tortilla chips and remaining shredded cheddar cheese over the top. Return baking dish to the oven and bake about 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

If freezing: Prepare the ground beef ahead of time by browning it in a skillet. Drain the grease, then freeze in a freezer bag. Thaw 24 hours in refrigerator. Heat in microwave 1-2 minutes and prepare as directed above.

We all enjoyed this meal. I wouldn't call it a favorite, but it turned out bette than hubs or I expected. Especially hubs...he really was not happy about this meal being on the menu. But I made it anyway, and he ended up having a side order of "crow" with his meal because he did like this meal after all!