Fajita Lasagna

Fajita Lasagna


1 bag (1 pound) frozen stir fry bell peppers and onions, thawed
1 pound lean ground beef
1 can (29 oz) tomato sauce
1 envelope (1.4 oz) fajita seasoning mix
12 no boil lasagna noodles
3 cups shredded Colby Monterey jack cheese (12 oz)
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
Guacamole, salsa and sour cream if desired

1. Heat oven to 350*. Spray bottom and sides of rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches with cooking spray. Drain thawed bell pepper mixture on several layers of paper towels; set aside.

2. Cook beef in 10 inch skillet over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain. Stir in tomato sauce and seasoning mix; heat to boiling. Spread 1/2 cup sauce mixture in bottom of baking dish. Arrange 4 noodles crosswise, slightly overlapping, on sauce. Spread 1 1/2 cups sauce over noodles, completely covering noodles. Spread pepper mixture evenly over sauce; sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese.

3. Arrange 4 noodles crosswise, slightly overlapping on top of cheese. Spread about 1 1/2 cups sauce over noodles, completely covering noodles. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese and the olives over sauce. Arrange 4 noodles crosswise, slightly overlapping on olives. Spread remaining sauce over noodles, completely covering noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.

4. Spray piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover baking dish with cooking spray. Tightly cover baking dish with foil, sprayed side down. Bake about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Serve with guacamole, salsa and sour cream if desired.

Makes 8 servings


Substitutions - I never have been able to find frozen bell peppers that just has onion and peppers in it. So I always just slice up the fresh stuff. It comes out just fine. I also use ground turkey or leftover chicken, chopped up in smaller than bite size pieces. I have yet to put the olives in it, mostly because we are always making this to enjoy with others who don't like olives.  I was worried about this one the first tried this. But it tastes like fajitas with noodles. Make sure you cover the noodles with sauce, if not where they aren't covered, they are chewy. You can always pre-cook your noodles and cut your sauce down if you prefer. I tried this once, and it's hard to not have too much or not enough sauce. Plus, what do you do with the rest of the mix and tomato sauce?  So just follow the directions and don't pre-cook your noodles.