Stupid Mexican lasagna recipe
My mom used to make a really good Mexican lasagna sometimes when we were kids. I decided I needed to make something like it, so I Googled it and tried the first recipe that came up, a recipe by goddamned Rachael Ray. And I don't even dislike Rachael Ray like the crazy haters out there. I'd never made one of her recipes before, and I can't say I'll be jumping at the chance to do it again.
First, I looked at two stores for ground chicken, one basic store and one specialized fancy store. No dice. So I got ground turkey. Which was $6 a pound, and the recipe called for two pounds. I should have taken the meat costing $12 as a sign that this recipe and I were not going to get along very well because I am kind of a cheapskate. Then, it called for a "large skillet." I think my skillet is fairly large, and there is no way it was going to hold two pounds of turkey, a can of black beans, a cup of corn, half a red onion, a cup of taco sauce, and a can of stewed tomatoes. So I ended up dirtying the skillet and then dumping it all into a giant gumbo pot. I spiced the heck out of the mixture -- OR SO I THOUGHT -- with more cumin and chili powder than the recipe called for, plus plenty of salt and some garlic powder and cayenne pepper thrown in of my own accord for good measure. I used the stewed tomatoes with the jalapenos in them. I used the black beans seasoned with garlic. I used the Mexican cheese with the peppers and spices in it.
And did this Mexican lasagna, despite my best seasoning efforts, have any taste whatsoever? No. No, it did not.
I don't know where it all went wrong. I don't know if most people who gave this recipe five stars just really like bland food. But this is not the first time this has happened to me, and I am not sure if I am just used to more flavorful food down here or what. I think I might blame the ground turkey. Maybe ground chicken or ground beef would have worked better? Who the hell knows? When the best thing about a meal is the bagged damn salad, it's depressing.
Maryelizabeth has advised me from now on only to use recipes by Louisiana cooks because they always include things like chiles and other spicy and zesty wonders.
Meanwhile, I've decided this recipe is jacked up in general. It says it makes 4 servings -- maybe 4 servings if you are Hagrid. The two of us have each had at least 3 servings already, and more than half the pan is still full. PLUS, the filling of the lasagna (meat, corn, beans, tomatoes, etc.) was way too much for the pan to hold, so I have a giant leftover bowl of it that I have no idea what in the hell to do with because we'll be eating the lasagna for days and will have no chance to use it in some creative way. I guess I will try to freeze it and then use it with rice or pasta or omelettes or something later. RIDICULOUS!
Damn you, Rachael Ray.
First, I looked at two stores for ground chicken, one basic store and one specialized fancy store. No dice. So I got ground turkey. Which was $6 a pound, and the recipe called for two pounds. I should have taken the meat costing $12 as a sign that this recipe and I were not going to get along very well because I am kind of a cheapskate. Then, it called for a "large skillet." I think my skillet is fairly large, and there is no way it was going to hold two pounds of turkey, a can of black beans, a cup of corn, half a red onion, a cup of taco sauce, and a can of stewed tomatoes. So I ended up dirtying the skillet and then dumping it all into a giant gumbo pot. I spiced the heck out of the mixture -- OR SO I THOUGHT -- with more cumin and chili powder than the recipe called for, plus plenty of salt and some garlic powder and cayenne pepper thrown in of my own accord for good measure. I used the stewed tomatoes with the jalapenos in them. I used the black beans seasoned with garlic. I used the Mexican cheese with the peppers and spices in it.
And did this Mexican lasagna, despite my best seasoning efforts, have any taste whatsoever? No. No, it did not.
I don't know where it all went wrong. I don't know if most people who gave this recipe five stars just really like bland food. But this is not the first time this has happened to me, and I am not sure if I am just used to more flavorful food down here or what. I think I might blame the ground turkey. Maybe ground chicken or ground beef would have worked better? Who the hell knows? When the best thing about a meal is the bagged damn salad, it's depressing.
Maryelizabeth has advised me from now on only to use recipes by Louisiana cooks because they always include things like chiles and other spicy and zesty wonders.
Meanwhile, I've decided this recipe is jacked up in general. It says it makes 4 servings -- maybe 4 servings if you are Hagrid. The two of us have each had at least 3 servings already, and more than half the pan is still full. PLUS, the filling of the lasagna (meat, corn, beans, tomatoes, etc.) was way too much for the pan to hold, so I have a giant leftover bowl of it that I have no idea what in the hell to do with because we'll be eating the lasagna for days and will have no chance to use it in some creative way. I guess I will try to freeze it and then use it with rice or pasta or omelettes or something later. RIDICULOUS!
Damn you, Rachael Ray.
posted by eliza @ 7:08 PM
7 Comments:
Rachael Ray's recipes are tricky. She emphasizes on her show that she is teaching the method of cooking a specific dish and not the exact recipe. I've made that dish before and changed almost every single thing about it to make it taste good. Sorry you didn't like the result!!!!
Eliza:
I have a theory that the best food in the whole wide world is to be found in New Orleans (and thereabouts). I further believe that as one travels north, the food gets worse and worse and increasingly more bland until finally, in Wisconsin or Canada somewhere, it has no taste or pizzaz at all. And that is a really long way of saying, your taste buds are more used to incredibly tasty food and people in the rest of the world have no clue. Which is why they rate a crappy recipe highly.
So, not that I'm advocating for one of her recipes... but I am left wondering (since you said this has happened before in the flavor department) - are your spices fresh? If they're old, they may have lots a good deal of their potency.
Also, if you're looking for a recipe for a mexican lasagna, my mom and aunt make one that involves Doritos. I've never had it, but the food snobs that they both are swear that it's to die for. I can certainly pass the recipe along...
Hee! I have one awesome Rachael Ray recipe for peanut butter-and-jelly cookies. Aside from that, I can't stand her stuff. Sorry the Mexican lasagne wasn't so hot.
And congrats on the new living arrangements!
anonymous -- that's good to know. I have not watched her show, so I didn't realize that! It makes sense -- maybe on the show she explained how it is actually supposed to be made, because I'm not sure the online recipe is it. bizzy -- that is an interesting theory. I agree that we have some great food, but I've no doubt that places north of us have some, too. I just need some damn taste. That is all I ask for! lauren -- I would LOVE the Dorito lasagna recipe, are you kidding? And my spices -- most of them were new, but I guess the cayenne pepper is possibly like 2 years old. So ... yeah. Maybe that was part of the problem. eileen -- those cookies sound intriguing. And thanks!
Four servings from two pounds of ground meat, plus other ingredients? Holy crap, that's a lot of...well, of everything.
I'm e-mailing you the recipe now. Sorry it took so long - my mom kept forgetting!
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