postmodmom

All the taste of mexico without going through customs.

 

*a progressive meal - the basic ingredients feed the little ones, the finished product pleases adults

*gluten-free

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Prep time: 25 min

Total time: 1 hour

Feeds: 6 adults, 3 kids

 

What You Need

1 pound of fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 package of 16 corn tortillas

3 15.4 oz cans of lime refried beans (I like Annie's) 

2 28 oz cans of green enchilada sauce (I use one medium heat, one mild)

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded - 1 minced, 1 sliced

2 16 oz bags of mexican cheese blend 

 

Make It

Preheat oven to 400.

 

Using a large pot with a steam basket, steam the chicken breasts over boiling water until fully cooked (10-15 minutes, depending on size and thickness).  Don't have a steam basket? No biggie. You can use less water and boil the breasts instead.  Once cooked, shred the chicken with two forks. 

 

Got hungry kids? Feed the kids the shredded chicken, quartered corn tortillas, shredded cheese and a dollop of beans now. 

 

Grease a 9x12 glass baking dish with canola oil.  Pour a little of the enchilada sauce on the bottom and spread evenly. (This helps the tortillas from sticking later.) Cutting a corn tortilla into quarters, place the right-angled sides (ahem, the ones that look like the edge of a square...) into the corners.  Cut three tortillas in half and place the flat edges so; one on top, one on bottom, and two lengthwise along the sides. Place two corn tortillas covering the missing center spots and you have an official tortilla later.  Using a spatula, drop spoonfuls of refried beans onto the tortillas and spread evenly over the bottom.  Add 1/2 of the chicken breasts on the bottom later. Evenly pour with 2/3 of a can enchilada sauce. Sprinkle 2/3 of the cheese on top.  Want it spicy? Sprinkle one minced jalapeno on top. You can even make it like a pizza and only pour on one half.  Go back to square one and repeat - tortillas, beans, chicken, sauce, cheese and skip the jalapeno on this layer.  To top it off, layer one last round of tortillas, sauce, and last sprinkling of cheese.  Need more heat? You can add the sliced jalapeno here. 

 

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese on top is melted and sauce is bubbling.  Allow to cool a bit before cutting and eating.

 

To the left is a picture before it got popped in the oven. I didn't get a picture of the after...well...because it was eaten so fast.

 

Variations

Need your veggies? Add 1/2 bag of frozen corn to the mix. Just make sure you cook it before layering it in the casserole.  Like red sauce instead? Use that in place of green.