If you have company coming for Thanksgiving, it’s going to be a long holiday. You can’t eat turkey all weekend. After the leftovers have been exhausted, serve this festive make-ahead recipe on Friday or Saturday night. Wow ’em with Mexican Lasagna!

MEXICAN LASAGNA

1 ½ pounds lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (15 oz) can enchilada sauce

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (2 ½ oz) can sliced ripe olives, drained

½ teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, finely chopped or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 cup small curd cottage cheese

1 egg

½ pound Monterey Jack cheese, thin sliced

8 (8 inch) , corn tortillas, halved

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown beef and onion in a large skillet. Drain. Stir in enchilada sauce, olives, tomatoes, salt, garlic and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Combine cottage cheese and egg in a small bowl; set aside. Spread one third of the meat sauce in a greased 13 in X 9 in X 2 in baking dish. Top with half the Monterey Jack cheese, half the cottage cheese mixture and half the tortillas. Repeat layers, ending with meat sauce. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake ten more minutes. Makes 6-8 servings.

This dish is much easier to prepare than Italian Lasagna. Because you’re using tortillas, there are no noodles to boil and drain separately. It really cuts down on a lot of time and messy pans.

You might offer to make this dish at home and bring it to an overworked relative or friend who is hosting the big Thanksgiving meal. It will surely be appreciated!

We’ve all had some memorable Thanksgivings. Mine happened while I lived in Miami, and about to have my third child. For some reason, I was hosting Thanksgiving for my then husband’s brother & family from Wisconsin, and my in laws who lived an hour away. Looking back, I wonder why a person who was 9 months pregnant would have made such a plan, without foreseeing the possibility of a little Thanksgiving glitch.

On Wednesday , I put my two children in the car, drove to Winn Dixie, bought a turkey and all the fixin’s, went home, and confidently chopped up onions and celery for the dressing. After dinner, I set the table for eleven, got out all the serving dishes, and rubbed the turkey with garlic. I suppose we watched television for awhile as I folded napkins and baked a couple of pumpkin pies.

A Thanksgiving baby — Baby Girl Born on Thanksgiving Day

About 11:30, I was awakened with those familiar cramps that signal a baby is urgently trying to escape from the womb. Even though I was 10 days from my due date, I’d been through this before, and was afraid I I would not be cooking Thanksgiving dinner. What would happen to the turkey? Would it spoil in the refrigerator? And where would everyone have dinner on a holiday when all the restaurants were closed?

My husband awakened our children, and we drove to the hospital. After I’d been put in the maternity ward, I urged my husband to take the children home so they could all get some sleep. Secretly, I hoped this was a false alarm and I could go home and cook dinner the next day.

They hadn’t been gone half an hour before a slim, blonde nurse came to my side, looked at her watch, and drawled . “I think we’re going to have us a Thanksgiving Baby.” It was l a.m., and the doctor was at a party. He made it just in time for the delivery , dressed in a suit and tie.

Someone else cooked Thanksgiving dinner the next day. Probably, my sister-in-law. When they came to see me me that night, everyone said it had all been delicious. They even put some leftovers in the freezer so that I could have Thanksgiving dinner the following week.

Have a happy Thanksgiving. — HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Yes, there was a little glitch in my Thanksgiving dinner plans. But on the other hand, something had gone very, very right. Fifty years later I still have my beautiful Thanksgiving Baby Girl..

Tag: Thanksgiving

WOW ‘EM WITH MEXICAN LASAGNA

If you have company coming for Thanksgiving, it’s going to be a long holiday. You can’t eat turkey all weekend. After the leftovers have been exhausted, serve this festive make-ahead recipe on Friday or Saturday night. Wow ’em with Mexican Lasagna!

This dish is much easier to prepare than Italian Lasagna. Because you’re using tortillas, there are no noodles to boil and drain separately. It really cuts down on a lot of time and messy pans.

You might offer to make this dish at home and bring it to an overworked relative or friend who is hosting the big Thanksgiving meal. It will surely be appreciated!

A LITTLE THANKSGIVING GLITCH

They hadn’t been gone half an hour before a slim, blonde nurse came to my side, looked at her watch, and drawled . “I think we’re going to have us a Thanksgiving Baby.” It was l a.m., and the doctor was at a party. He made it just in time for the delivery , dressed in a suit and tie.