Green Chili Enchilada Casserole

January 27, 2009

This green chili enchilada casserole recipe is my first attempt at Cooking for Work.  I made it last (Sunday) night and refrigerated the whole thing.  Tonight I ate it for dinner and will take some for lunch in a couple days.  Don’t worry – I followed some of your suggestions and will post those recipes over the course of this week.

My mom first made this casserole a few weeks ago, and it was pretty good.  I ate it again (from frozen leftovers) Saturday for lunch after work and thought it tasted much better.  It seemed like a no-brainer to cook ahead for work-week lunches and dinners.  And to top it off, it’s incredibly easy and versatile.

I had a pound or pound and a half of cooked, shredded chicken (you can get this from a roast chicken or something similar), one onion, a tablespoon of chili powder, salt and pepper, 10 flour tortillas, a little over 3/4 lb. Monterey Jack cheese (3-4 cups shredded), a 10 3/4 oz can of condensed cream of chicken soup, 1 1/2 cups sour cream (I would highly recommend low fat, or even plain yogurt should work), a 4 oz can of diced green chilies, and some salsa to taste.

I began by chopping the onion and sautéing it in some oil over medium heat.  Once it was soft, I added the already cooked chicken, chili powder, and some salt and pepper to taste, just to heat everything.

While the onion sautéed, I chopped the tortillas into big chunks, and the cheese into a small dice (though shredding would probably be better). 

Once the chicken was heated through, I layered the tortilla pieces and onion/chicken mixture in a 9×13″ Pyrex baking dish, and sprinkled the cheese throughout it.

At this point I turned on my oven to 375º F to preheat.  The next step is preparing the sauce.  I mixed the sour cream, soup, chilies, and some salsa in a bowl, then poured it over the top of the chicken and tortillas. 

Finally, I baked it for 25 minutes, sprinkling some extra cheese over the top for the last 7 or 8.

Tips

• This casserole tastes better as leftovers, and freezes pretty well too.
• I used full fat sour cream, and the sauce was much too thick and rich.  I would recommend low-fat sour cream, and maybe low-fat soup too.
• This recipe would probably be great with some tomatoes folded into the sauce, or peppers sautéed with the onions.  It can be varied pretty easily I think.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cooked shredded chicken
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 8-10 flour tortillas, chopped into large pieces
• 3-4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 3/4 – 1 lb)
• One 10 3/4 oz can of condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt
• One 4 oz can of diced green chilies
• Salsa to taste

Recipe:

• Sauté the onion in the oil over medium heat.  When the onion is soft, add the chicken, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir it together and heat the chicken through.
• Preheat the oven to 375º F.  Layer the chopped tortillas with the chicken/onion mixture and cheese in a 9×13″ casserole dish.  Mix the sour cream or yogurt, soup, and green chilies in a bowl.  Pour over the chicken and tortillas in the casserole.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, and sprinkle extra cheese over the top with about 10 minutes remaining.  Serve with salsa and/or sour cream.

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