TACO CASSEROLE!
ingredients:
taco seasoning (I will show you my homemade recipe but you can use the packet kind too)
2 cans of enchilada sauce (however hot your family likes)
1 can of diced tomatoes (my fav are the fire roasted but my pantry was out)
1 can of corn drained and rinsed
1 can of black beans drained and rinsed
1 whole chicken (or about 1 lb and a half chicken breast) cooked and shredded
4 large tortillas
a full cup of crushed tortilla chips, crushed taco shells or corn chips
1 pkg of mexican cheese
1 cup cooked rice
Go ahead and cook your rice.. you can use plain white rice or even use some spanish rice
While the rice is cooking warm your chicken (or cook it) in a skillet with a touch of olive oil
give the chicken a minute to warm and add your can of diced tomatoes
add one of the cans of enchilada sauce
add about a tbsp of your homemade (or one whole packet) of taco seasoning---- taco seasoning tutorial at the end..
let this cook through and the flavors marry
drain and rinse your corn and black beans
add to a saucepan and cover with water and let them simmer
crush your chips into bite sized pieces.. I like to use a ziplock baggies to keep the mess contained.. these are just plain taco shells I got for free a while ago and was trying to find a use for them.. I had to use about half of the pkg to get enough to cover the casserole
form your assembly line..
add each layer.. spray pan, add 2 of the large tortillas on the bottom of the casserole dish, add half of the cooked rice, add about half of the meat mixture, half of the corn/blackbeans, add 1/3 of cheese and then cover with crushed chips (or just use two more tortillas)
Repeat the layers (without the crushed chips at the top.. instead use the remaining two tortillas)
pour the last can of enchilada sauce over the tortilla layer
top with cheese
cover with foil and place on a cookie sheet to protect your oven from spillage
bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.. the final 5-10 minutes take foil off to melt/brown cheese
my favorite is to serve this with sour cream and fresh lettuce for some crunch! ohhh and maybe some of those left over chips to scoop
Enjoy :)))
My taco seasoning (this is just my adapted version.. please feel free to simply use this as a base for your own and you can just go ahead and make large amounts of this and keep it in a container for future use.. I do.. it stays good for about a month
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (this will add more heat if you increase amount)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika (this will increase "mexican" taste sorta)
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp sea salt (this you can decrease a little because you have LOTS of salt in your beans and salt even with rinsing)
2 tsp black pepper
mix together :)
Just a tid bit of extra info.. if you want to expand this recipe to make more.. 3 tsp = 1 tbsp.. I had to look that one up!
