Enchilada Casserole

Enchiladas are one of our favourite dishes to make and it took us a few years of trial and error
with technique and ingredients before we got it right where we want it.  We really didn't think we could make it better...until a few weeks ago.  We had left over shredded pork that we'd made in the slow cooker, and I decided to go the "lazy" route and try an enchilada casserole.  I'd never had one, never made one, only heard of 'em.

Shockingly... we liked it better than our enchiladas.  Justin nailed it when he said it's like a lasagna.  The ratios were great.  We loved the way all the flavours came together.   And it took a lot less time to make than enchiladas because there wasn't the frying process or the rolling process.  Just layer up the dish and go.

For this round, we decided to try ground beef instead of the shredded pork.  I think we liked the shredded pork better, but the ground beef was still great (and we figured we'd go with it for the recipe because it seemed more accessible and quicker).  Shredded chicken would probably be bomb, too!  I think the corn and beans really make the dish - corn adds a nice crunch, beans add a great creaminess.  We made our salsa verde extra spicy, so we didn't add jalapeños to it, but they would also be great amongst the layers.  And since it heats up so well as a leftover, we made the recipe huge so we could have lunches to take to work for the next few days. 

We were thinking we hadn't pulled out much old punk in a while.  So Justin suggested some Suicidal Tendencies, and one he said he liked.  "Memories of Tomorrow".  -jen

ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
Prep Time:  30 minutes
Cook Time:  45 minutes

Poblano chiles

Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  10-12 large portions

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 poblano chile, diced
• 2 packets taco seasoning
• non-stick cooking spray
• 4 cups salsa verde (make your own quick and easy with CTDF's recipe here)
• about 15 corn tortillas
• 1 can (14oz) black beans, rinsed
• 1 can (14oz) corn, rinsed
• 1 cup chopped cilantro 
• 4 cups shredded cheese of your choice (go for 6 cups if you like it cheesy!)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Add diced onion, diced chile and ground beef to pan.  Cook until vegetables are soft and meat is thoroughly cooked, stirring intermittently.  Drain grease from pan, add about 2 tablespoons of water and taco seasoning.  Cook until water has cooked off.  Set aside.

Coat a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with non-stick spray.  Spread a thin layer of salsa verde on the bottom of the dish.  Lay out two layers of corn tortillas over the salsa verde.  (I found I could get two whole tortillas in, and then broke up a 3rd one to fill in the holes for a single layer.)  Sprinkle half of the seasoned meat over the tortillas.  Add half of the beans and corn.  Spoon another thin layer of salsa verde on top.  Add half of the cilantro and one third of the shredded cheese.  Repeat another double layer of tortillas, followed by a repeat of meat, beans, corn, salsa verde, cilantro and cheese.   Finish with a single layer of tortillas.  Top tortillas with a thin layer of salsa verde and then add the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, uncovered.  Remove and let rest 5-10 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve.