The Zylstra's: Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I think I'm too obsessed with Castle, and 24! Today walking out of the elevator, a man in all black was holding his hand to the side, and sort of started following me. I immediately started to think he was going to stab me in the back. Then, on my drive home, a black escalade was driving close to me, and I started panicking that they were bad guys. Haha! All I think about is how much I love Jack Bauer, and I'm serious. After watching a full season, I've been dying to see another episode.

Tonight I made a delicious Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole. I make Enchiladas quite a bit in our house, so having a new spin on things was nice. They're layered, instead of rolled, and even though I didn't make the homemade enchilada sauce like she suggested, the Old El Paso brand was DELICIOUS. My Enchiladas don't have Enchilada sauce, they're more of a white-girl-mormon version, so it's nice to have another option when I crave Mexican food, which is most of the time. Anyways, make this Enchilada Casserole right now. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients

3 cups red enchilada sauce (I highly recommend my homemade red enchilada sauce recipe)

16 corn tortillas, halved

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

6 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced

4 cups (about 1.5 pounds) shredded cooked chicken

3 cups shredded Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend cheese

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1/2 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh cilantro

Method

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Pour about 3/4 cup enchilada sauce in the baking dish, and spread until the bottom of the dish is coated. Top with a layer of about 8 tortilla halves so that the entire dish is covered. Sprinkle evenly with about 1 cup black beans, 1/2 cup corn and a fourth of the green onions. Then sprinkle with a heaping cup of the chicken, and about 3/4 cup shredded cheese.

Repeat with a second layer of tortillas, then sauce, then beans, corn, green onions, chicken, and cheese. Then a final layer of tortillas, sauce, beans, corn, green onions, chicken and cheese. Then conclude with a final layer of tortillas and sauce (reserving about 3/4 cup of cheese to add partway through baking).

Cover the pan with aluminum foil, then bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan and remove aluminum foil. Sprinkle the top of the enchiladas evenly with the remaining 3/4 cup of cheese, then return to the oven (uncovered) and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Remove pan, and sprinkle with avocado, cilantro, and remaining green onions. Serve warm.