Mexican Chicken and Veggie Lasagna

 Okay, I have not fallen off the face of the earth and I will still blog.  It is proving to be difficult to find the time with the husband being deployed and all. We are making it...  trudging through.  I feel like I could pull my hair out at any given moment come bedtime, but I think I am doing well, all things considered. 
This meal is SOOO good.  Kinda like my mexican casserole in flavor, but way healthier!  I may not even make my mexican casserole anymore!  This is packed with veggies that are hidden with delicious and complex flavors.

A few notes: Cheese is strictly a binder here, the glue, so feel free to omit.   Also, the veggies, use what you have on hand and like.  The only must haves in my opinion are onion, pepper and tomatoes.  My kids are not fans of half these veggies on their own and 2 of the 4 kids had seconds and the other two, while being suspiscious of it's looks, said, "Mmm! It tastes good.".  We ate it as leftovers, still great on day 2, older kids had seconds and thirds!  I would highly recommend the corn tortillas here and they add a lot of flavor and they serve as your "noodles".  Oh, and I want to eat huge portions of this. 

MEXICAN CHICKEN AND VEGGIE LASAGNA

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 LB boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 3 TBSP taco seasoning (I use homemade)
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 cup matchstick carrots or carrot sticks
• 1 cup broccoli heads, diced
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup corn (I use roasted from Trader Joes)
• 1 can black beans or black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• a lime
• 3 tbsp roughly chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish 
• corn tortillas (I used 12-15?)
• 6-8 oz. mexican cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Cook chicken in crock-pot with 2 TBSP taco seasoning.  When cooked, shred and return to crockpot with juices, and add 1 cup of salsa and mix.  Chop all veggies, matchstick carrots and broccoli in 1/4" pieces.  In a large skillet, place extra virgin olive oil, onion and pepper.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, add carrot sticks.  Cook 2-3 minutes, add broccoli.  Cook 2-3 minutes, or until all veggies are soft. Add 1 TBSP of taco seasonings to veggies.  Add spinach and garlic, cook until spinach wilts, then add corn, beans and fire-roasted tomatoes.  Juice 1/2 lime over the veggies and mix in chopped cilantro. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper.  Turn off heat and assemble lasagna.
Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 9x13 dish with cooking spray, and spread a layer of chopped veggies (about 1/3).  Cover with a layer corn tortillas.  Top with 1/2 the shredded chicken.  Top with a handful of shredded cheese. Top with a layer of corn tortillas.  Continue with veggies, then corn tortillas, remaining chicken, handful of cheese, corn tortillas, and finally veggies and another handful of cheese.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until hot through and top is melty (yeah, it's a word) and browning. 
Juice lime over after baking and serve with more fresh chopped cilantro and sour cream or greek yogurt, if desired.