Yummy Enchilada Casserole

I looooove Mexican food. When I lived in San Francisco there was a Mexican joint across the street from my apartment and another one just around the corner. I was a frequent visitor to both eateries, as well as the campus burrito joint at SF State. Go Gators!! I make Mexican cuisine more than any other type of food. It is usually really easy, full of cheese (yum!), spicy, and just all around delicious. Tonight I decided to make enchiladas for dinner and this was so super easy. I didn’t use any set recipe for this and threw it together in about 40 minutes. I defrosted the chicken earlier in the day and then went to the library around 3pm, went shopping at Borders, and then ate a delicious crepe, before realizing it was after 4:30pm and I still had to cook the chicken, let alone make the entire dish! Thankfully I was right around the corner from home and this dish came together quick and easy.

I've also submitted this recipe to Joelen's Foodie Film Contest. Check it out on her page. :)

Enchilada Casserole

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Corn tortillas (you can use flour, but why would you? Corn has such a better flavor and holds up to the sauce really well)
• Your favorite cheese shredded (I used a combination of pepper jack and cheddar)
• The big can of enchilada sauce (I can’t remember the number of ounces…check back for an update…The first time I ever made this I used Las Palmas mild sauce. It was WAY too hot; even my Mexican friends who are used to super hot food thought it was too hot. This time I used La Victoria mild….it was better but not quite hot enough. It’s almost like Goldilocks and the 3 Bears here.)
• 1 can of chicken broth
• Pepper (optional)

Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Defrost your chicken breast and then throw it in a pot with the chicken broth. You want the liquid to cover the chicken….feel free to add some water if the broth doesn’t cover the chicken. (You can boil the chicken in just water, but the broth adds a lot of flavor to the meat.) Add in pepper to suite your tastes. Bring to a boil and let boil for 15-20 minutes.






While the chicken is boiling, shred the cheese and spray a glass pie pan with cooking spray (I use Smart Balance).

Once the chicken is cooked through, drain the liquid and shred the chicken using 2 forks.

Line the bottom of the pie pan with corn tortillas, cover them with half of the shredded chicken, and heavily sprinkle with the cheese. Pour about a cup of enchilada sauce over the chicken and cheese.

Here is the first layer of tortillas, chicken, and cheese:















Cover this layer with another layer of corn tortillas (I like to tear mine in half for better coverage.) Pour more enchilada on top of the tortillas, spread the rest of the shredded chicken on top, and cover with more cheese.

This is the second layer, before adding cheese:
















Place another layer of corn tortillas on top of the chicken and cheese and cover with the rest of the enchilada sauce.

Finally, sprinkle about a half a cup of cheese on the top. I put the pie pan with the enchilada casserole on a cookie sheet, just in case some of the cheese or sauce slopped out. I hate when that happens because my oven gets smoky and our smoke detector is EXTREMELY sensitive….and loud.

Ready to go in the oven:



Cook for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the top layer of tortillas are crispy. Let sit for about 5 minutes and then serve. We had a can of refried beans and (strong) margaritas with our enchiladas. Ole!