Thursday, January 24, 2008

Tortilla Stack (or easy Sunday dinner)

J calls this dish Sunday Special because I often make it on a Sunday when I can't be bothered cooking! It is soooo quick and easy. I used to make it as a special dinner and make my own refried beans and salsa (which took all day, well, hours), but now it is my stand-by "fast food" and I use packets and tins and jars of everything. It takes less than 5 mins to put together and about 20 mins to cook!

If you don't put much cheese in and skip the sour cream, it is pretty healthy too because most cans of refried beans now are almost fat free, whereas years ago they used to be made of lard (yuck!). And the salsa and tortillas are virtually fat free too.

You will need:

* 4 flour tortillas
* 1 jar of ready-made salsa (the hotter the better)
* 1 can of refried beans (you can use two and make a thicker version, which will serve 4 - 6 easily)
* Grated Cheese
* Sour cream to serve

Spray a 23 cm round cake tin with cooking spray. Lay your first tortilla in it. Then spoon in 1/3 of the can of refried beans (if only using one can, 2/3 if you have two cans!) and spread evenly. Top with salsa. Add a little grated cheese. Lay your next tortilla and repeat process. And again. (A bit like making a lasagne!) Lay your last tortilla on top, then top with remaining salsa and grated cheese. Put in 180 degree oven for about 20 mins or until cheese is melted and all looks hot and smells good.

Serve cut into wedges with a dollop of sour cream and a green salad.

* Note: I have skipped the cheese between the layers before without sacrificing any taste, so to lower the fat content, you can just put a little cheese on top if you like.

* This serves 4, but if you are not serving with a side salad, a hungry person can easily eat 2 quarters and hence will only serve 2 (and in this house, this is often the case!). If you make it with 2 cans of refried beans it is really filling and I would challenge anyone to eat more than 1/4.

2 comments:

Caz said...

Vanessa which part of the supermarket do you find refried beans? Im sick of meat lately. Your recipes sound so easy and tasty! Caz (who is munching popcorn before bed)

Vanessa said...

Hi Caz, in our supermarket they are with all the mexican style foods and kit-food (ie. the curry pastes, tortilla packs, laksa pastes etc). If you can't find it you can make your own by frying some onion, adding kidney beans, tomatoes and a little chilli and simmering a bit, then mashing. Looks a bit like dog food really in the end! Yes, the 2 recipes I have posted are really easy and tasty! Mmmm, popcorn - watching a good movie too?