Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Joey and I hosted some of our friends and cadets from VMI at my apartment for lunch after church on sunday and we decided to make chicken enchilada casserole, a recipe I got from my fabulous, amazing, and inspiring Aunt Jenny. Since I got the recipe from her a couple years ago, it has slowly become a favorite among my friends and I even get requests for it from time to time--so, here's the recipe!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cans enchilada sauce

corn tortillas

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

white rice

sour cream and tapatillo hot sauce for serving

• Cook chicken breasts (I usually put it in my slow cooker while I'm at church); let cool and shred.
• In a large saucepan, mix cream of chicken soup and enchilada sauce and heat (I heat it while I'm prepping everything else so that it takes less time to bake later).
• Cut corn tortillas in half so they fit into the corners of the pan easier. Also, since I always buy corn tortillas in a large bag, I'm not sure how many you might need--can you tell this is definitely an easy eye-balling recipe?
• in a 9x13 pan, spread a little of the sauce on the bottom, then place a layer of corn tortillas. sprinkle 1/3 of the chicken, then about 1/4 of the sauce, followed by 1/4 of the cheese.
• Repeat tortillas-chicken-sauce-cheese two more times, for a total of three layers.
• Arrange a fourth layer of tortillas, spread the remaining sauce, and cover with the rest of the cheese.
• Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until its heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.
• While its baking, cook the rice. Again, since this is kind of an eye-ball recipe, I don't have a specific amount. I usually make about 1/2 cup per person (I made way more for the hungry cadets!). Of course, make which ever kind of rice you like, but I go with traditional white rice.
• To serve, make a bed of rice on the plate and place a slice of the casserole on top. Finish it off with some hot sauce (Joey and I love Tapatillo) and sour cream if you like.

This is absolutely one of my favorite dishes. Its warm and cheesy and overall delightful--in fact, I would say this is one of my comfort foods. And despite only using a few ingredients, its definitely not lacking in flavor. And did I mention its a cinch to make?!

Hopefully you see how open this recipe is for little additions and variations. Maybe try adding beans, sauteed onions, shredded steak instead of chicken, different kinds of salsas, or jazzing up the rice to make your own unique enchilada casserole!

Thanks, Aunt Jen!