Mexican Tortilla Pie

 A few months ago I won a copy of Pies and Tarts with Heart by Dynise Balcavage. I was really excited when I won this cookbook because it would be my 2nd new release vegan cookbook. (Bianca 's was the first) I tried to make a pie crust from Dynise's book but I failed miserably because I was in a rush. Don't be alarmed she does have savory pies as well as sweet ones. So for my second crack at this cookbook I went for a savory dish. No way I can screw that up right. Since Keithon loves Mexican food, I picked the Mexican Tortilla Pie.

This by far is the simplest and tastiest tortilla pie I've ever had. The one thing that confused me about the recipe ingredients is that it called for vegetarian refried beans. What could not be vegetarian about beans? Now before becoming vegan I steered clear of beans because I just didn't like the texture. So I while I was shopping for refried beans I flipped over the can and saw what made them un-vegetarian. LARD! ::vom:: PLEASE make sure you buy the vegetarian ones. Aside from the refried beans it called for black beans, black olives, onions, cilantro, Dayia cheese, tortillas and vegan sour cream.

 Keithon could have made this dish alone. There isn't any pre-cooking involved. I just layered everything up and popped it in the oven for 30 minutes.

  Once this dish came out of the oven it looked picture perfect, even in my aluminum pie pans. (Pyrex dishes are on my kitchen wish list) For the top layer the recipe said to pour a cup of salsa on the top layer and sprinkle with cheese. It didn't seem right to cook salsa but hey I always follow a new recipe to the letter.....the first time. It came out perfect.

  Needless to say this dish went over very well it Keithon. Of course Keithon had to have his side of avocado and I decided to be generous and give him more than one slice. Being a single mom I love one pot dishes and Pies and Tarts with Heart is full of them. I have a couple more recipes bookmarked that I can't wait to try. So if you haven't gotten your hands on this one pan wonder grab it. Sweet or savory you won't be disappointed.