Enchilada Casserole

Last night I concocted a surprisingly delicious dinner that again, even my picky 8 year old son loved and wanted seconds of. I had to take stock of the limited items I had in my pantry and try to find a way to create a meal. Earlier in the day I roasted one of those whole chickens that I got for a great price and had to decide how I wanted to use the meat. Here's what I came up with and I think it will be a hit in your house too using left over chicken or even turkey will be good.

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Shred up the chicken and set aside.

2. Using the pan of the roasting chicken add 2 cups of water and scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan. You may need to warm up the pan on two burners to get the bits to come off easily. You basically made chicken broth.

a. or you may use two cups of water and two chicken bullion cubes, or two cups of ready made broth.

3. Pour the chicken broth into a medium sauce pan. Add 1 can of tomato paste and 1/2 cup of salsa, and 2 tablespoons (I buy the bulk container of this at Sams Club) or if you buy the packets you can add a whole packet for a stronger flavor, of taco seasoning. Simmer on medium heat until thickened....maybe up to 10 minutes. Then add the shredded chicken to the sauce.

4. In the bottom of a 13x9 casserole pan spread a very thin layer of the sauce. Try to make it only sauce not chicken.

5. Layer 6 small corn tortillas over the little bit of sauce. Then spread a layer of the chicken mixture over the tortillas. Then sprinkle some shredded mozzarella over the chicken mixture. Add 6 more tortillas, another layer of chicken mixture, and more mozzarella . The last layer is 6 more tortillas, another layer of chicken mixture, then sprinkle on shredded cheddar cheese.

6. Place the casserole in the oven uncovered for about 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown and get bubbly.

That's it! I'm sorry I don't measure usually, but it's pretty easy to throw this together I think. Let me know if you have any questions about it.

I also made homemade refried beans to go with this. So much yummier than the canned kind and almost as easy to make! I'll post the recipe now.