Simple Chicken Enchilada Casserole

On Friday I am taking Morgan with me to visit my parents in Nashville, Tennessee. It will be my little six-month old's first plane trip and I am doing it solo so I am a little nervous. Right now going through my mind are all the times that I have been on a plane with a small baby who wouldn't stop crying, I remember thinking to myself that I wished the parents would just make it stop. Now that I am a mom, I have so much empathy for that parent. I guess you don't really understand until you are a parent yourself. All I can do is prepare as best as I can, bringing her favorite toys and food, and hope that mommy cuddles and breastfeeding itself will help keep her calm.

With all of that on my mind, I am in need for some distraction; good, simple, comfort meals. The first one that came to my mind was something that is going to get me ready for my trip, Mexican Food!! I am so excited to step off that plane and eat my fill of Mexican food as well as enjoy some El Salvadorian food as there is an amazing place in Nashville that makes Papusas. Latin American food is not a cuisine that can easily be found here in the UK and it isn't all that surprising as it isn't a huge immigration destination. I have a secret that I will share and that is I have decided that I am going to open a Taco Restaurant here in Newbury. I will start off small at first, opening a taco stand in the market but in the next three to five years my gold is to open my first restaurant! Which is very exciting.

But now I have gotten myself distracted; today's recipe is a simple Enchilada Casserole. When I was living in the States I would always buy my Enchilada sauce from the store, but being that I live somewhere that doesn't have that I had to do some research on how to make it from scratch. I am happy to say it isn't hard at all and to be honest even if I could get enchilada sauce at the store I think I would choose to make it from scratch any way.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

450g (1 lb) diced chicken breast
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

400g (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 jalapenos, chopped*
284mL (10 ounce) red enchilada sauce
100g (3 oz) Tortilla chips
265g (2 c.) shredded Mexican blend cheese
227g (8 oz) container sour cream

Preheat the oven to 190 C (375 F)
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and a small amount of olive oil. Saute chicken with cumin, coriander and jalapenos until chicken is cooked through. 

Take off the heat and stir in the cilantro and black beans.
 

Spread half of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish. Crumble two handfuls of tortilla chips over the sauce. 

Spoon half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, and sprinkle with half of the cheese and half of the sour cream. Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the cheese, and make another layer of tortillas. Layer the remaining chicken mixture over the tortillas and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

 Remove the cover, and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and dot with sour cream. Continue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese melts. 

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*Keep or discard the seeds according to your taste

 Red Enchilada Sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 c. salsa
170mL (6 ounce) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water

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Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the onion, oregano, chili powder, basil, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and parsley.

salsa and tomato sauce.
 

Add the salsa and tomato sauce and then stir in the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.