Foodwhirl

Chicken Enchilada “Lasagna” Casserole

The other night I was brainstorming on dinner, and my eyes feel to a bag of tortilla chips we had opened the other evening when we had friends over. “Hmmm…” Dot thinks. “What can I do with those?” (Because Dot is inherently cheap and knows that the chips will just end up going stale and being thrown out.)

I perused the freezer and decided on 2 cups of cooked chicken (which I had from my Multiple Meals for $2.78 chicken.)
I knew I had onions, canned enchilada sauce, sour cream, and monterey jack cheese, which would be the makings for chicken enchiladas. But I decided that the same basic ingredient list, plus chips, would make a delightful Enchilada Casserole. And ya know what? It was quite a success. This is not really on the healthy end of the scale (with the fried chips rather than uncooked corn tortillas), but it’s comfort food at it’s best… definitely an easy, tasty, and relatively quick meal, that your family will love.  (Click on any of the below photos to see larger)

Ingredients:

• Tortilla chips (or just use uncooked corn tortillas if you have them on hand.)
• 2 cups cooked chicken (dark meat is fine for this application)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  2 cups fresh spinach leaves, slightly chopped.
• 1 small can green chilis, chopped.
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

• 1 10oz can enchilada sauce.
• 1 Teas minced garlic
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 c Monterrey jack cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Drizzle several teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over Medium-Low heat. Add onions and cook them for 5-10 minutes until soft.

While the onions are cooking remove spinach stems and chop slightly.

When onions are soft, add spinach, cook until wilted.

Add chicken and green chilies, and stir to combine evenly.  Remove all to large bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, combine sour cream, enchilada sauce, and garlic, and stir well until smooth.

Spray a baking dish (I think mine was a 13×9 pyrex) with non-stick spray, and spoon a small amount of sauce on the bottom.

Add one layer of chips.

Top with about half of your chicken mixture,  then 1/3 of your sauce mixture, then ~1/2 c of cheese.

Add another layer of chips, then top with the other half of the chicken mixture , then ~1/3 of your sauce.

Add a final layer of chips, top with the remaining sauce and the other 1/2 cup of  shredded cheese.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes (depends on how big/deep your pan is) until cheese is golden, and until bubbly around the edges and hot in the middle.

Remove, let set for 5-10 minutes for easier cutting.

Enjoy!  Pairs nicely with a light salad to round out the meal.

Tags: chicken, enchilada, lasagna, mexican

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