Foodie Friday

This recipe is for my dear friend Laurie, who has been patiently waiting for me to post this somewhere. I made this for her and her fantastic family on her birthday, which was also New Year's Eve and our joint Resolution Run, my first ever 5km. She is such a delight to me. Truly a kindred heart.

This is one of our favourite recipes: Enchilada Casserole.

So first some disclaimers: I will type the recipe as written but you need to know that I always think it is going to be too dry and that there won't be enough sauce to satisfy me, so I add a can of diced tomatoes, or a jar of salsa. (that's what I did with you, Laurie). But sometimes then, it serves up really sloppy, so use your discretion. Or make two and stick one of them in the freezer and compare! My changes will be in italics.

Enchilada Casserole from the London Free Press

3 cups Red Chile Sauce (see below)
12 Corn tortillas (I use 6 large Whole Grain Tortillas)
3 cups cubed, cooked chicken (we also like it with cooked ground beef, or for a vegetarian version, a mix of Black Beans and Kidney Beans)
(We add some frozen corn and diced green or red pepper here too)
1 pound (500 g) Monterey Jack or Mozzarella Cheese (or old cheddar)
1 1/2 cups diced onion (sometimes I omit this as the kids aren't wild onion fans)
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 1/2 cups diced tomato
1 1/2 cups light sour cream

Preheat oven to 350F; lightly grease a 9x13 pan.

Spread one cup of sauce over bottom of pan. Layer 2 Tortillas overlapping as necessary.

Layer chicken, 1/3 of the cheese, and 1/2 the onion, and cover with some sauce. Repeat layers of Tortillas, chicken, cheese, onion (add the diced peppers and corn here too, if using), and sauce. Cover with remaining two tortillas, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly and hot through. Serve with lettuce, diced tomato, and sour cream as garnish. (We also like to top with diced avocado and sliced black olives)
Serves 8-10

Red Chile Sauce
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
3-4 tbsp red chile powder
2 tbsp flour
2 1/2 cup water
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin

Heat the oil. Saute onion and garlic 3-4 minutes. Stir in chile powder and flour. Slowly add the water and cook until thickening. Add oregano and cumin. Bring to a quick boil. Simmer 1-2 minutes. Salt to taste. (Add a jar of salsa, or diced tomatoes before simmering if desired)


We LOVE this. Love love love it. To be fancy and pretty sometime, you can also make this in a springform pan. Just for sure don't add the extra jars to the sauce then. You will want it drier for certain. Just stack the tortillas one at a time in your 10 inch springform pan and you have a really impressive Towering Enchilada Pie (or at least, that's what I'd call it!) :-)

Let me know what you think!