Spicy chicken and plenty of cheese pack this gooey creation full of flavor.
(photo by Jenn Harris)

This week I attempted to make Mexican food. I say attempted because I bought some green chili sauce out of a can, used a bag of grated cheese called "Mexican blend" and used some corn tortillas. Pretty pathetic and unauthentic, but what I came up with was a gooey enchilada stack that everyone happened to love.

I guess if you really think about it, you can never go wrong with a dish that has lots of melted cheese in it, and this dish has plenty.  When you're on a budget, like I am, casseroles of any kind are a fairly inexpensive way to make a comforting dish that will keep an entire family full. This dish fed a family of four with a lot of left overs for only $12.  It's also really easy to make and takes about 45 minutes total, including prep and baking time. I incorporated a lot of fresh, store bought ingredients to cut down on time.  

I used a canned green chile enchilada sauce by Las Palmas. I love the mild green chile flavor that is a little smokey and tangy. There are chunks of onion and roasted chiles. I also bought a roasted chicken from the market. I'm always in favor of making your own chicken, but when you're short on time a $5 roasted whole chicken is a convenient standard you can always count on. I shredded the chicken and seasoned it with lots of chili powder, cayenne and ground chipotle powder to give it a kick. The spice cuts the creaminess of the cheese and the mild green chile sauce nicely.

I layered the toritillas, sauce, chicken and cheese in a casserole dish and baked it until the sauce and the cheese were hot and bubbly.  When I brought the dish to the table my family was a little confused but pleasantly surprised when they tried my concoction.

Ingredients:

Serves 4-6

1 large can Las Palmas Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
1 pkg grated cheese (you can use cheddar or the Mexican blend)
1 pkg corn tortillas
1 whole roasted chicken from your favorite grocery store
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground chipotle powder
*cook's note: you can use whatever kind of chili powder you already have in your spice cabinet and season to personal taste. My version is a little spicy.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F.
Shred the chicken from the market and add the seasonings. Take a 13 by 9 inch casserole pan and scoop a couple spoonfuls of sauce onto the bottom. Then take five tortillas and places them over the sauce. Try to cover as much of the bottom of the pan as possible. Then take some more sauce and spread it on the tortillas. Sprinkle some chicken and cheese on the layer and repeat for three layers. Make sure you have enough sauce and cheese left over to cover the top of the casserole.
Bake for 30 minutes and serve!