On nights when Chad gives evening training sessions, I like to hang out at my mom’s house and cook dinner for my family. My mom pays for all the ingredients, and I don’t have to clean up or do any dishes! This is rapidly turning into one of my favorite traditions. Luckily, my mom and stepdad are more than happy to let me practice my culinary skills on them.

Yesterday I mentioned the Mexican lasagna that my brother fell in love with. I made it again tonight so that I could share the recipe with you, pictures included. If you eat meat, you must make this! Not only is it incredibly flavorful and packed full of protein, but it’s so easy too. Have you ever turned the oven light on and gazed at a dish in torturous anticipation, wishing it would cook faster? I have. Especially with dishes like this, when the cheese gets all bubbly on top. Well, I have good news.

This Mexican version cooks much faster than regular lasagna, which means less gazing and quicker plating! There are no real vegetables in the dish (unless you count the half an onion and one cup of corn…which is cool if you do, but that’s not how I roll), so I cooked up some zucchini to have on the side.This meal came with no complaints. We’re all happy campers tonight, and I’ll be fueled for another good workout tomorrow morning! This morning I did 60 minutes of intervals on the stairmaster, then cooled down for another 6 minutes. The workout totaled 7.55 miles and just over 360 floors. Woohoo! The stairmaster is my bitch.

Okay, back to food. Here’s the recipe. Incase anyone is wondering, the original recipe came from Rachael Ray, but I changed it quite a bit. I think my adaptation is better.

Mexican Lasagna

• Ingredients
• Directions