Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

While my boys were at the dog park the other evening, I made this enchilada casserole sort of based on the memory of something my mother made when I was a girl. As one of the Nashville Mamas wrote recently, in this instance, if cooking with canned soup is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

My man said several times how delish it was, even though it was a super quick quick shortcut supper and nothing fancy pants a'tall.

Here's what I came up w/ from what I had here at home:

Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

Preheat oven to 375.

*Chicken breasts (two)
Corn tortillas (12-16)
1 1/2- 2 C Chicken broth
1 1/2 - 2 C Mexican blend shredded cheese (Jack, queso blanco, cheddar....)
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 C fresh spinach
1 can kidney beans cumin (lots) sea salt (to taste)
1 C sour cream 1 can Las Palmas enchilada sauce
*(I boiled a whole hen and made my own broth; the rest of the hen & broth is in sopa de lima.)


Shred the breasts into a large mixing bowl. Add a big handful of Mexi mix cheese, reserving some for later.

Put red pepper (seeded and de-membraned) and onion (peeled and halved) and garlic cloves into food processor-- pulse 'til chopped, not minced; add to chicken bowl.

Stir in cream of mushroom soup and 1 C chicken broth, reserving other broth for later. Stir in kidney fresh spinach (no need blanch) & beans (black beans or another substitute would be good, I'm sure). Add lots of good smoky cumin and sea salt to taste. If you care to, ancho chili, black pepper or whatever you've got to jazz it up would be good.

In another bowl, mix sour cream and enchilada sauce. Set aside.

Spray casserole dish (I used a big rectangular Pyrex) with cooking spray, then line pan with 5 or 6 overlapping corn tortillas, lasagna like. (You could also cut up your tortillas if you want it more like a strata; I went for fast.) Ladle chicken broth over tortillas, spoon in half of chicken mixture. Repeat. Add final layer of tortillas w/ broth. Pour enchilada sauce / sour cream mixture over the top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes; because it's so moist, letting it go longer won't kill it, either.
Let sit for 10 minutes and cut into servings. Voila. A one dish meal w/ carbs, veggies, protein, etc.

It'd be good with green sauce instead or adding corn or other veggies, or all veggie for the non carnivores. This would also be something to assemble a day ahead then bake later.