Family Recipes: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This is a shortcut I made up several years ago when I didn't want to fill and roll the tortillas 1 at a time.

I make a white cheese sauce that I use in lots of recipes: Melt an 8 ounce block of cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups milk, stirring until melted so it doesn't burn (I use nonfat milk and low fat cream cheese, but use whatever type you like). Remove from the stove.

To this mixture, add some garlic salt, Italian spices (oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc) and nutmeg. (I rarely measure things, especially spices; if you are not used to this kind of cooking, start with a small amount, taste, add more if you want it) Pour a small amount of the mixture into a baking dish, enough to cover the bottom.

Using scissors, I then cut up several corn tortillas, about 8-10, into bite-size pieces. The pieces can be square, triangular, any shape you want.

Cover the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish with the tortilla pieces.

 

Next, layer bite-sized cooked chicken, either cubed or shredded, some grated cheese and whatever else you might like. I usually add chopped onion, bell pepper, sometimes jalapenos and cilantro. Again, I don't measure this type of thing, so use any amount you want; I found that I tend to go by looks--in other words, the colors of the different ingredients should have a balanced, pleasing look, and that seems to give me the right amount.

 

You can make as many layers as you want, but to keep it simple, I usually just put everything in and cover with a layer of tortillas pieces.

Pour the cheese sauce over the final layer and top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Serve with guacamole or sliced avocado.