Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Alright y'all, I know I've expressed this before, but I LOVE Mexican food... actually, Tex-Mex may be more accurate. So here I am, poor little Hispanic-American living in Germany, and I want to go somewhere where they're gonna whip me up some Gaucamole at the table and keep the chips and salsa coming. It'll be awhile before I get to enjoy that kind of experience again.

SO... I”ve been trying to do more Mexican-style cooking at home. Aside from tacos at least once a week, enchiladas are my love. As I mentioned in a previous recipe for Skillet Enchiladas, the possibilities are endless on how to prepare them.

A few weeks ago, I tried green chicken enchiladas for the first time. The reason you never saw a post about it is because it was a fail in my book. My husband was pleased, but we still cleaned it out of the fridge a week later having not touched it since that night.

I realized my major mistake was using flour tortillas. I whipped up spicy cream cheese into the chicken and smothered in green sauce and green chiles and baked them all rolled up. The tortillas were so mushy, and they were way too creamy. FAIL. But I've been wanting to try chicken enchiladas again ever since.

So tonight was the night! We decided to make two major changes – CORN tortillas and red sauce!

I also decided to make a layered casserole, like a Mexican lasagna! I could not be more pleased with the result. We will definitely eat all the leftovers this time around!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:

8 10in corn tortillas

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cups yellow corn kernals, canned or frozen

1 15.25oz. can black beans

3 small cans red enchilada sauce

shredded Mexican style cheese

Sour cream

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cook chicken on stove top and shred. I like to put mine in my Ninja blender for easy work.

Slice tortillas in half. Drain corn, if using canned. Drain beans.

Splash a layer of Enchilada sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish - starting with some sauce will help keep the casserole from sticking. Enchilada sauce can be bought in varying heat levels. I actually used 3 different (mild, medium, hot) simply because it's what I had on hand.

Lay tortillas in dish, backwards so straight edges line the sides. Depending on size on dish, you will use about 2.5 tortillas on each layer. I had to use quarter pieces to cover some holes.

Top tortillas with shredded chicken, cheese, corn, beans and dollops of sour cream. I plopped about 6 dollops on each layer, spread out. It will thin out to cover each bite as it cooks and creates a wonderfully creaminess. Cover in enchilada sauce, and then repeat the layers. 

Keep layering until close to top. Add a final layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.

I served over a bed of Spanish rice and topped with slices of avocado!

If I were to change anything in the future, I'd add black olives and white onion.