Enchilada Casserole

I found a recipe for Trader Joe's Enchilada Casserole and realized I didn't want to use quite that many ingredients. I ended up modifying based on what they had in the store. It ended up being enough for large servings for two people (me and Mike D) with a little leftover for lunch the next day. The key here is that the basic elements are cheese, tortillas, sauce and chicken which are layered like a lasagna. All of the seasoning is optional. You could add olives as well (Mike D doesn't like them so I didn't.). It came together pretty quickly. I like the Just Chicken from Trader Joe's (TJ's) because it doesn't have any additives or added salt.... just chicken... like the name says. If you had some leftover roast chicken, that would probably work too.

Here's the modified version.

1 12 oz. package TJ's Just Chicken (any cooked chicken would work)

1 bottle TJ's enchilada sauce

1 can green chiles (Hatch preferred)

About a cup of TJ's shredded pepper jack cheese blend (pretty spicy!)

About a half cup of shredded cheddar cheese

4 green onions

1 package of corn tortillas

Cayenne

Powdered chiles

Salt

Pepper

Note: My recipe came out pretty spicy so reduce spices if you like. You could substitute any blend of cheeses.

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Sprinkle chicken with a bit of cayenne and powdered chili peppers, salt and pepper. Add a spoonful or two of chiles (as you like). Put in 3 of the chopped green onions.

Cut tortillas into strips 1-2 inches wide.

Pour a little of the sauce in a small casserole dish just to cover the bottom with a thin layer.

Put in a layer of tortilla strips (use like you would lasagna noodles).

Put in a layer of chicken mixture.

Top with cheese.

Pour over a thin layer of sauce.

Repeat tortilla - chicken - cheese - sauce layers.

End with a layer of tortillas. Top that with some sauce. Then top that with some cheese and the last of the green onion.

Bake 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted.

Enjoy :)