Enchiladas/Enchilada Casserole

One of the most popular dishes at Now We're Cooking was the Enchiladas. We had a number of different variations on it, and we always stocked the bar so that you could make your own variations, too. I received a request today to post the recipe, so here it is!

This one is a bit of a pain because you have to cook the chicken in advance and shred it. However, I'll do this on a Sunday and cook 6-8 chicken breasts at the same time. It never hurts to have cooked chicken breasts in the fridge. You can easily throw together a salad, sandwich, quesadillas or pasta with the cooked chicken and whatever else is in there.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Prework:

Cook 2 chicken breasts - I would either season them with salt and pepper and roast at 350 for 20-40 minutes (depending on the size of the breasts - the key is to make sure it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees - which means pull it out of the oven at 155 and let it sit for 10 minutes - the temperature will continue to rise.)

Spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix:

2 cups shredded chicken

1 cup pinto beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup shredded Monterey Jack

½ cup diced onions, diced (or green onions)

4 Tablespoons chopped cilantro (there's also a nice cilantro paste in the veggie section of Safeway - about 1 Tablespoon has the same effect)

¼ cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon lime juice

½ teaspoon cumin

If you prefer rolled enchiladas or want firmer tortillas, try the variation below. Otherwise:

Swirl ½ cup green or red enchilada sauce around bottom of pan.

Layer in pan:

3 corn or flour tortillas

½ of the chicken mixture

3 corn or flour tortillas

½ of the chicken mixture

3 corn or flour tortillas

Pour 1 ½ cups green or red enchilada sauce evenly over enchiladas.

Top with:

1 cup monterey jack cheese

You can either cook this immediately or freeze for later.  If you're freezing it for later, cover tightly with 2 layers of saran wrap - letting the wrap rest directly on the cheese, then cover with foil.

Cooking directions:
Fresh or completely thawed:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Frozen:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove foil.  Remove saran wrap, brushing any stuck cheese back into the casserole.  Recover with foil.  Bake 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 30 minutes more.

Variation - Rolled Enchiladas

Spread 1/2 cup sauce evenly on the bottom of the pan.  For each tortilla, either  heat briefly in the microwave (5-10 seconds) or in a hot skillet (10 seconds per side).  Place 1/4 cup filling in the tortilla, roll, and lay seam side down in pan.  Repeat until all tortillas are filled.  Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the enchiladas, then sprinkle evenly with cheese.  Cook as directed above.