My 257th recipe, "Easy Mushroom and Corn Layered Mexican Bake", a quick and delicious dinner idea perfect for the cool winter evening. I am on a Mexican craze now. After posting a Burrito recipe, a couple of days ago, it is now time for another flavorful Mexican dish. Do you folks ever read the recipe printed behind the ingredient packets you purchase ? Once upon a time, I used to read the recipe behind every packet of cheese, noodle, etc. which I purchased. However, since almost all the recipes were heavy biased towards meat, I stopped reading. Now-a-days, I would read only if it as ingredient I am trying for the first and not familiar about how to use it.
After making the Burrito on the other day, I was casually looking at the Kraft Mexican 4 cheese blend packet. Though I buy it very frequently I haven't thought of looking at the packet earlier. The cheese packet had a recipe for Santa Fe Enchilada Bake. That sounded like an amazing casserole made using chicken as the primary ingredient. I immediately knew that I could make this vegetarian easily by substituting mushroom instead of chicken. Mushroom has a very meaty taste and texture and I usually make good use of it as a vegetarian substitute in meat recipes. Since there was no Enchilada sauce in this recipe, I was not too sure about the name given on the packet. So I chose to name this adaptation as a Layered Mexican Bake.
This Layered Mexican Bake is pretty easy to make. It is more like a Lasagna but it saves you the trouble of cooking pasta sheets. There is nothing in this recipe which you would not love. The mushroom and corn filling itself is very flavorful. A nice tang from the salsa, a hint of spiciness from the chilli flakes, a hint of sweetness from the corn compliments perfectly the earthiness from the mushrooms. And while baking the tortillas soaks up the sauce and becomes nicely warm, soft and delicious. And to round it all, the perfectly melted Mexican 4 cheese blend on top of the Layered Mexican Bake, adds an extra bit of something for both your eyes and your tummy 🙂
Mushroom and Corn Layered Mexican Bake
Easy Mushroom and Corn Layered Mexican Bake
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- ½ medium Onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
- ½ medium Bell pepper (finely chopped)
- 10 White Button Mushrooms (thickly sliced)
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Red chilli flakes
- 1 Cup Chunky Salsa (I used Tostitos Chunky Salsa)
- ½ Cup Corn
- 4 large Flour Tortilla (burrito size)
- 1 Cup Sour cream
- 1 ½ Cup Shredded Cheese (I used Kraft Mexican 4 cheese blend)
- Tomato - for garnish
- Lettuce - for garnish
- Cilantro - for garnish
Instructions
- First, heat oil in a large pan and add the chopped onion, garlic and bell peppers. Saute until the onion turns translucent.
- Now,add the sliced mushroom to the pan. Add the salt, red chilli flakes and mix well. Cook in medium flame. The mushroom will release water initially. Continue to cook until all the water evaporates and the mushrooms are dry and 80% cooked.
- Now add the salsa and corn to the mushroom. Mix well and continue to cook for a couple of mins until the salsa warms up and thickens a bit. Turn of the stove.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Take a 8X8 baking pan. Cut the tortillas as per the size of the pan. Place 2 tortillas in the bottom of the baking pan. This would form the base of the casserole. Add half of the mushroom mixture on top of the tortilla and spread evenly.
- Now, add half of the sour cream on top of the mushroom mixture and spread it out gently. On top of the sour cream, sprinkle half of the shredded cheese. Repeat the same process for a 2nd layer of tortilla, mushroom mix, sour cream and cheese.
- Bake in the 400 F for about 20 mins until the top is nicely melted and golden. Pull it out of the oven and let it sit for 10 mins.
- Loosen the edges with a sharp knife and cut into quarters like a lasagna. Serve hot.
Judy says
Wow! just wow! the food, the presentation, the photography, everything!
revifood says
Thanks so much Judy 🙂
Lynn | The Road to Honey says
When I first saw this deliciously cheesy dish, I thought it was lasagna. And while that alone got my tummy grumbling. . .I was even more thrilled when I saw that no noodles were involved (who wants to fuss with lasagna noodles?). My hubby loves Mexican food so I think he would be thrilled to see this beauty show up on the dinner table.
revifood says
Thanks Lynn. Completely with you on that. Not needing to cook pasta sheets is surely a big game changer for me 🙂
Noel says
There were times when my daughter and I ate so much Mexican style food, you would think we lived south of the border. This is a great recipe, I'm sharing with her!!
revifood says
Oh sure Noel. Hope your daughter likes it too 🙂