Texas Toast Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. Jimmy Dean bulk pork sausage, cooked.
• 8 oz. spiral pasta (or any small pasta i.e. penne, macaroni, shells, etc.)
• 1 jar (26 oz.) pasta sauce
• 3/4 c. water
• 1 T. fresh basil chopped OR 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 c. fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 box Texas Toast or frozen garlic bread sliced into 8 slices
• 2-3 c. (12 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 8 fresh whole basil leaves
• 8 large tomato slices

Preparation:

• In a large bowl, mix cooked sausage, cooked pasta, pasta sauce, water, chopped basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and pepper.  Toss gently, then place mixture into a greased 9x13 in. pan.
• Place slices of garlic bread on top of mixture and cover with mozzarella.
• Dip tomatoe slices in olive oil and place on each bread slice.
• Cover with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.  Then uncover and bake for 5 - 10 minutes longer to melt the cheese.
• Tuck basil leaf slightly under each tomatoe.  Let stand ten minutes to help set before slicing and serving.

Cheesy Mexican Bake

This recipe comes straight from the Betty Crocker website, so I cannot take any credit, but it is simply wonderful!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb bulk spicy pork sausage

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, drained

1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 can (~10 oz.) condensed cream of celery soup

1 can (~10 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce

9 six-inch flour tortillas (Betty Crocker calls for corn tortillas but I prefer flour)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz.)

 1-2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack Cheese (8 oz.)

Optional: chopped tomatoe, avocado, and sour cream to top lasagna.

Preparation:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook sausage and beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in beans, diced tomatoes, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
• In 2-quart saucepan, stir together soups and enchilada sauce. Cook over medium heat 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until thoroughly heated.
• Spoon one-third of the sauce into baking dish; top with 3 of the tortillas. Spoon half of the meat mixture over tortillas; top with another one-third of the sauce and 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese. Top with 3 tortillas. Repeat layers with remaining meat mixture, sauce, Cheddar cheese and tortillas. Sprinkle with half of the Monterey Jack cheese.
• Cover loosely with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining Monterey Jack cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Top with tomato, avocado and dollop of sour cream if so desired.