Make 1 & Froze 2 Taco Lasagna Meals!  Yay!

I have been trying to do at least one Make 1 and Freeze 1 meal a week for dinner.   The idea is we can eat the one meal that night for dinner and the other one will go into the freezer to eat at a later date when we are a little more pushed for time.  I started doing this a couple months ago as I was preparing for my two weeks away on a work trip.  I wanted to make sure there was plenty in the freezer for my husband to pull out the night before and either put in the crockpot or oven after picking the kids up from school.

This particular recipe is a favorite with our family.  I was able to Make 1 and Freeze 2 Taco Lasagnas for a later dinner!  Since I was already making up a big batch I was able to do more which will be a blessing later when we pull them out of the freezer.  I like being prepared and having a back up plan.  Whether it is a crazy week or busy weekend we have some options if we need them!

Another solution that I had to come up with regarding our meals is how to keep some food ingredients separate because we have one family member that cannot have regular refried beans or dairy.  Once I use up the refried beans that I have in the pantry I am going to try making my own from black beans or other beans that can be eaten, but for now though I have come up with a simple solution that seems to work well for our family.  I put a barrier between the refried beans and dairy side which keeps the items separate when cooking and eating.

I cut one small soft flour tortilla in half to use a barrier between the two sides.  As you can see the side with refried beans is larger than the side without it because 3 of us eat from that side and only one from the non-refried bean and non-cheese side of the Taco Lasagna.  PLEASE NOTE  that the person in our family that has the food allergy will not go into shock or needs hospitalized if they encounter or happen to eat the food so while this option works for our family it may not be the perfect solution if you have someone with severe food allergies because there still is a chance of the food cross over (usually when serving).  The food allergy is real and we have seen the side effects to veering even a little off her diet, but thankfully we have come up with a solution where everyone can share the same meal with very little adjustments.  The person with the food allergy gets a lot of extra meat for protein instead of the cheese and refried beans.

Taco Lasagna still divided this time with a layer of meat and cheese.  The side without the cheese gets extra of the meat mixture!  I have shared our Taco Lasagna recipe in the past, but will post it below again so it is easier to locate.

Taco Lasagna:

• 1 pound ground Beef or Turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped Green Pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped Onions
• 2/3 cup Water
• 1 package of Taco Seasoning
• 1 (15 oz) can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 oz ) can Mexican Tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (16 oz) can Refried Beans
• 6 (8 inch) Flour Tortillas
• 3 cups shredded Mexican Cheese

In a large skillet, cook the meat, green pepper, and onion over medium heat until done.  Add water and taco seasoning; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 2 minutes.  Stir in black beans and tomatoes.  Simmer uncovered 10 minutes.  Place 2 flour tortillas in a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Spread half of the refried beans then half of the beef mixture.  Sprinkle with 1 cup Mexican cheese.  Repeat layers.  Top with remaining tortillas and cheese (I try to add a little extra cheese if I have it and sliced olives if we have them in the pantry or fridge).  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted.  I usually take the foil off the last few minutes to let the cheese on top get a little crispy since our family likes it that way.

The top of our split Taco Lasagna!  Everyone’s happy (those who want cheese and those who do not) and this is now ready to be put in the freezer for us to eat at a later time!