Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With This Simple Recipe

Several months ago I discovered a recipe for Green Chili Enchilada Casserole on familyfun.com, but it was a bit time consuming for a normal weeknight dinner for me. Although the recipe said the sauce could be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge, tomatillos if found at all in my area usually cost a small fortune. So, I did some doctoring up and I made my own version with the help of some store bought foods (like the way Sandra Lee does on Tastefully Simple.) Since I cook by experimenting and tasting and a whole lot of trial and error not all my measurements are exact, but this recipe is so easy there really is no right or wrong other than what you think tastes good. 

The first thing I changed was that I substituted the homemade tomatillo sauce for a store bought in a jar sauce. The only brand I could find was Ortega Mild Green Taco Sauce. (16 oz jar), but you could use what ever brand of tomatillo sauce (also known as salsa verde) that you like. I originally started out with about 2 jars, but since my husband sometimes like to have extra I like to have a third jar on hand. (Since this recipe has become a family favorite I usually have one opened jar in the fridge for dipping or using with tacos or other recipes and 2 jars for the recipe.)

The original recipe also calls for soft corn tortillas. For the first several times I made this I did use the corn, however the last time I was not thinking and I grabbed the flour tortillas out of the fridge. My family raved and raved like it was the first time I made it. Later I figured out my mistake, so I have decided to stick with the flour tortillas.  

Also this is a great way of using left over cooked chicken or you can boil a couple boneless chicken breasts if you don't have any cooked chicken on hand or in the freezer.

So here is my recipe:

Easy Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Casserole

2-3 jars green taco sauce, salsa verde or tomatillo sauce (16 oz. each jar)

12 (6 inch) corn or flour tortillas

3 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 1/2 C grated Cheddar*

1 1/2 C grated Monterey Jack*  

1/2 C finely chopped onion

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large bowl combine the shredded chicken, 1/2 cup of the tomatillo sauce, half of the Cheddar, half of the Monterey Jack and the onion. Mix well. Spread 1/3 of the remaining tomatillo sauce in the bottom of 9"x13" baking dish. ( I use the what is left in the jar from which I took the 1/2 cup.) Place 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of a tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the other tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with the rest of the cheese.  Bake in a 375F oven about 20-30 minutes or until the enchiladas are heated and the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. Makes 6-8 servings.

*You can use any combination of these cheeses or even use Colby-Jack just have the total amount of cheese equal 3 cups and use 1 1/2 cups for the filling and the remaining 1 1/2 cups for the topping.