Nacho Average Lasagna

And this is Nacho Average Fire Hydrant! On a recent trip to Brooklyn, to re live my culinary childhood, my husband and I spotted this proudly painted hydrant in the Bay Ridge section of the city. It was clear that we had landed in an Italian neighborhood, and it's occupants were proud of it! While we were in my hometown, we ate hamburgers at two, yes two, different locations (The Vegas Diner and Skinflints), lemon Italian ices and pastries from the West End Bakery. All of this eating took place in a 3 hour period and though I could hardly eat another bite, I wondered why, while in one of the Italian food capitals of the Northeast, hadn't we stopped for some baked ziti or some other Italian-American specialty?
Well, the truth is, while I am very proud of my heritage and its impact on the world of food, I'm kinda sick of eating it. And cooking it, for the most part, involves hours of meat braising and pounds of mozzarella and ricotta cheese, which can grow tiresome...I wondered how I could combine tested versions of beloved Italian recipes with other culinary cultures that I love? The result of this question is...

Nacho Average Lasagna

1/2 Yellow Onion -diced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
2 cups Hot Salsa
2 cups cooked Brown Rice
1 can Black Beans-drained of liquid
1 whole ripe Avocado-Removed from skin, de-pitted and sliced
2 cups Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
8 flour or corn tortillas
2 Tbsp Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

-Saute diced onion in olive oil until translucent. Add cumin, oregano, black beans, brown rice and 1/2 cup of salsa. Cook on low heat for approx. 5 minutes.
-While rice mixture is cooking , melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet on medium heat, brown both sides of tortillas in butter
-Remove rice mixture from heat after 5 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste
-In a 13 x 9 greased/sprayed baking pan, layer the browned tortillas, rice mixture, salsa, sliced avocado and cheese and repeat until all ingredients are used. Because the pan is rectangular and the tortillas are round, it is best to lay them in the pan like a Venn diagram. (That is that there will be overlapping circles of deliciousness in the center!) Top the layers with cheese and bake in heated oven until cheese is melted and browned.
Ole!