This is from a recipe given to The Lady by Cha Cha, a young Mexican woman who grew up in East LA. The Lady adapted it to fit the needs and wants of The Man. The Lady asked The Man if he wanted Red or Green Sauce and he replied, “Both”.
The original recipe was as a casserole and when The Lady asked Cha Cha why it was a casserole, she explained that it was much easier than rolling the enchiladas and it tasted the same… The Lady embraced the “easy” part…
As many of you know, The Lady doesn’t measure and just goes along using the amounts of ingredients that she thinks will work. Where she knows the exact amount or number, she has included it.
Ingredients:
6 Flour or Corn Tortillas
Red Enchilada Sauce – 10 ounce can
Green Enchilada Sauce – 10 ounce can
Tillamook Cheeses: Colby/Jack, Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar and Chili Pepper Garlic Cheddar (Shredded using equal parts of the Colby/Jack and White Cheddar and half that amount of the Chili Pepper Garlic. She mixed all three together.)
Chicken – 2 Boneless Breasts and 4 Boneless Thighs
Black olives – Sliced
½ Bulb of Shallot – Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves – Chopped
½ of a large Sweet Onion – Chopped
1 Bell Pepper – Chopped
¼ to ½ Cilantro Bunch – Chopped
1 Anaheim chili
Mexican Seasoning to Taste
Oil (The Lady only uses EVOO)
Preparation:
The Lady grilled the Anaheim Chili over the gas flame of the stove until totally charred. She then put it in a zipper bag with a wet paper towel to steam it. She left it in the bag to cool.
Next she sprinkled Mexican Seasonings on the chicken and sautéed the pieces in EVOO in a large sauce pan. Once cooked, she set aside to cool in a bowl to catch the juices to be used later.
Next she chopped the shallots, onions, garlic and bell pepper and sautéed them in the same pan she used to grill the chicken.
Once cooled, The Lady tore the chicken into shreds and added the sautéed veggies to the bowl with the chicken and natural juices.
Next she peeled the charred skin off the Anaheim Chili; chopped it and added it to the chicken mixture.
She sliced the olives and chopped the cilantro and added them to the chicken mixture and set aside.
Next step was to schmear half of the baking dish bottom with some of the red sauce and the other half with some of the green sauce.
She scraped the bottom of the sauce pan and added a little EVOO. Once the oil was hot, she began sautéing the tortillas to brown them slightly. She put two on the bottom and schmeared both – keeping the red sauce on one side of the dish and the green on the other.
Next she added some of the chicken mixture and then sprinkled some of the Tillamook Cheese mixture on top. She repeated 8 and 9 to make three layers.
Cover top with remaining cheese mixture.
Bake at 350° for 30 to 45 minutes until bubbly and cheese on top is slightly brown.
Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with guacamole and sour cream on the side. Spanish rice and/or black beans are nice side dishes.
