Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Scott’s mom has a fantastic chicken enchilada recipe. In fact, it’s more than fantastic – it’s unbelievably fantastic. Unfortunately, Katie tends to make an absolute mess of it, resulting more in a “this started as enchiladas but is now more of a chicken blob with enchilada sauce and cheese” when she tries to remove said enchiladas from the dish. She tried everything and finally gave up, figuring that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. She took the unbelievably fantastic enchilada recipe and turned it into a casserole because, let’s be honest here, no one cares how their casserole looks when it’s been dished out in a bowl or on a plate.

Also, this recipe makes FANTASTIC leftovers!!!

##Ingredients

  1. 3 chicken breasts
  2. 1 1/2 cans of Hatch green enchilada sauce
  3. 2 cans chopped Hatch green chiles (we use mild)
  4. ~ 8 corn tortillas
  5. 8 oz. shredded cheese (we like HEB’s Mexican blend without jalapenos)
  6. PAM (or some other non-stick cooking spray)

Directions

  1. Boil the chicken breasts in water until fully-cooked.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Shred the chicken breasts into small pieces while still hot (I use my food processor because it’s fast and easy).
  4. Mix the shredded chicken, the enchilada sauce, and the green chilies together in a bowl.
  5. In an 8X8” or 9X9” glass or foil dish, Spray PAM on the bottom and all sides. Tear up four corn tortillas and place them in the bottom of the dish so that it is completely covered (some overlap is okay, but don’t go overboard because the purpose of tearing the tortillas is to make it easier to get the casserole out of the dish when ready to serve).
  6. Dish about half of the chicken/sauce/chile mixture on top of the tortillas and spread it evenly.
  7. Sprinkle half of the cheese on top of the chicken mixture and spread it evenly.
  8. Tear another four tortillas and spread them on top of the cheese so it is completely covered.
  9. Pour the remaining chicken mixture on top of the tortillas and spread it out evenly.
  10. Sprinkle the last half of the cheese on top of the chicken and spread it out evenly.
  11. Put the dish in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes (until the cheese is nice and browned on top).
  12. Enjoy!!!

If you wish to half this recipe, simply use 2 chicken breasts, 1 can of enchilada sauce, 1 can of chilies, and half of the cheese in a loaf pan. It bakes for the same amount of time.

We frequently will make this recipe for someone if we are taking them dinner. We do everything except bake it in the oven, and they can keep it in the fridge for up to three days before they are ready to cook it. That also ensures that it’s nice and hot when they are ready to eat!