Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna

Lately I have been turned off by meat and feel like I have been turning to more vegetarian options. I like to call myself a flexitarain...one who is a semi-vegetarian, but includes less meat than a typical diet, eating meat occasionally (brought to you by wikipedia ;) So I came up with this recipe:

VEGGIE MEXICAN LASAGNA

Ingredients:

1/2 of each: red, yellow and green bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 red onion, cut into strips

1c. mushrooms, sliced

1c. zucchini, halved and cut into strips

1 can dk kidney beans

1 can 10oz tomato sauce (save 1/4c for bottom of casserole)

1/2c. salsa

2c. fresh spinach, cut thinly

1-2c. shredded cheddar cheese

chopped cilantro and parsley

salt & pepper to taste, if you want some heat add cayene pepper

sm. corn tortillas 6-12, depending how large of a portion you want

Directions:

1. Saute bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms until soft

2. Add beans, tomato sauce, and salsa bring mixture to simmer

3. Add spinach until wilted, and herbs & spices

4. I used a round casserole dish so I only needed one tortilla per layer, may use 9x13'' dish-->use 3 tortillas spread out per layer (don't forget to double the veggies then!)

5. Pour the reserved tomato sauce on bottom of casserole. Layer your ingredients: tortilla, then veggie & bean mixture, then cheese: REPEAT, ending with veggie & bean mixture. I do not add the cheese ontop until the last 5min of baking, that way your cheese is nice and melted and not hard and chewy!

6. Put casserole uncovered into a preheated oven 350F for 20min, add some cheese ontop and let bake for 5 more min. Let cool 5-10min before serving. Goes great with cilantro and lime rice :)

veggie and bean mixture

layer the ingredients

casserole right before the oven