Jennifer's Week Twenty-Three Recipe: Enchilada Lasagna

While I was going through Alton Brown recipes for last week's entry, I ran across this one and made the mistake of saying aloud, "'Enchilada Lasagna'?" to which Chad replied with "Make it!" So, I did.


Enchilada Lasagna


For Sauce:

2 dried chipotle chiles, stems and seeds removed, diced

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, freshly ground (I used already ground cumin.)

2 cups chicken broth (I used a low sodium variety)

3 cups tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper


For Filling:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed

1 1/2 cups onion, diced

Pinch kosher salt

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

12 (6 inch) corn torillas (I may have used 1 or 2 more than this - I didn't count them out)

3 cups shredded queso fresco* or Monterey Jack cheese

Nonstick cooking spray

Combine the chiles, garlic, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the chiles are soft. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the chicken until cooked through, approximately 7 to 9 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place in a medium bowl. Add the onions to the same pan along with a generous pinch of salt, decrease the heat to medium-low and sweat for 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and cook until the onions are tender, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the chicken back to the pan and remove from the heat.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Place 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the dish. Dip 4 tortillas into the remaining sauce and lay them into the bottom of the dish. Cut 1 of the tortillas in half to evenly cover the bottom of the dish. Top this with half of the chicken mixture and 1 cup of the cheese. Starting with 4 more tortillas, repeat the layers, ending with the last 4 tortillas on top. Pour remaining sauce over the dish and top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese on top is bubbly.

* it should be noted that fresh queso fresco (redundant?) does not shred, it crumbles.


Would I make it again? Erik's reaction: "Mommy, this is awesome!" So, yes. Chad and I have come to the conclusion that Erik really likes Mexican/Tex-Mex food. He seems to always eat it with mucho gusto.