Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Green Chile Enchilada Casserole is full of flavor and easier to make than regular enchiladas. You get all the great flavor of enchiladas with a lot less work. I love the flavors of the green chiles and sour cream, it is so creamy and perfect. Getting my kids to try this was a little tricky, they saw the green pieces and wanted nothing to do with it. It took a little bribing, but they both tried it and loved it. My son has been asking for it everyday since the last time we had it. It really is that good.

First, I make the sauce, it is made with butter, flour and chicken broth. Once that is made, I take it of the heat and add the green chiles and sour cream. I use mild chiles that are diced, they are in pretty small pieces but you can always chop them a little more so they are not as noticeable, I usually do. I then spread a little of the sauce in the bottom of the pan so the tortillas do not stick to it.

Next, I put one whole tortilla in the pan, along with smaller pieces around it so that most of the pan is covered. It does not have to be perfect, nobody will be able to see it and it is okay to have a little not covered. I use flour tortillas, but you can use corn tortillas if you like. I am going to make it with corn tortillas next time to see if we like them in it.

Next I add a cup of chicken. You can use any leftover chicken that you have, or you can cook a couple of chicken breasts. I cooked a chicken breasts in salsa, this gives the chicken a little extra flavor. You can also use dark meat. I have made this with the leftovers from a whole chicken, I use both white meat and dark meat, it tasted wonderful. I have also made it with leftover BBQ'd chicken, that gives it a great flavor also. You could even use a store bough rotisserie chicken if you would like to make it really fast.

Next I put about a third of the sauce on the chicken, it does not have to be covered completely, just put spoonfuls all over. If you want, you could add cheese also. I only put cheese on top because the sauce has enough flavor for me, but cheese inside is good also.

Repeat these steps for the next layer.

On the top layer, I put the rest of the sauce and about a cup and a half of cheese. I spread it evenly so that most of the sauce is covered. Then I put it in the oven and let it bake until it is bubbly and brown. When it is down cooking, I highly recommend letting it sit for about 10 minutes, this gives the insides a chance to firm up a bit so they do not spill out when you cut it. I know this from personal experience. It can get really messy if you do not let it sit. It is hard to wait the 10 minutes, it smells so delicious but you will be glad you did.

You can serve the casserole with spanish rice, refried beans, tortilla chips or by itself. I eat it by itself, my family usually has rice with it. Sometimes I have extra sour cream on the side also, but I really love sour cream and eat it with almost everything.

It heats up as leftovers really good, my son has been eating it for breakfast the day after we have it . I think he is afraid someone will eat the leftovers before he gets to them otherwise!

Green Chile Chicken

Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients

5 flour tortillas, soft taco size
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
2 cups chicken broth
4 oz can diced green chiles, drained
2 cups sour cream
1.5 cups monterey jack cheese
2 cups chicken, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Heat pan to medium, melt butter, then add flour, cook one minute
Add chicken broth, whisk until thick, about 4 minutes
Take off heat, add drained chiles and sour cream
Put a small amount of sauce on the bottom of pan
Layer one whole tortilla and part of another in a pan, top with one cup chicken and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat
On top layer, put sauce and monterey jack cheese
Bake in oven for 25 minutes, until casserole is bubbly and top is turning brown
Let sit for 10 minutes before serving