Entree / Chicken: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

From Doug Carey

Ingredients
2 cans chicken broth
1 whole chicken, 3 lbs with bone (or 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts or tenders)
1 (8 oz) jar mild salsa
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 can of red enchilada sauce (10 oz?)
1 package of 6-inch soft corn tortillas (includes 10 tortillas)
Possible toppings include sour cream, diced Fresh tomatoes, diced onions, shredded lettuce, chopped olives and jalapeno peppers

Directions
Note: To make this recipe easier, buy a Rotisserie chicken with original seasonings and pull the meat off of it, shredding the chicken. Skip to the directions for Llayer 1 if you bought a Rotisserie chicken. If you buy an uncooked chicken, put it in a crock-pot. Add 2 cans chicken broth. Put foil over the opening of the crock-pot. Cover with crock-pot lid. Cook at 150 degrees for approximately six hours, or let it cook all day (while at work). Remove chicken from crock-pot and let it cool.

(Do not throw away liquid / chicken stock in crock pot. I typically set it aside, let it cool completely, put it through a strainer and put the liquid into Ziploc bags. In that way, instead of buying canned chicken broth, you can use the bags from the freezer whenever you need, in the future…) Then, remove the chicken meat from the bone. Tear chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl, mix chicken with salsa.

Layer 1:
Place five tortillas in the bottom of an ungreased 11 X 13 casserole dish.
Pour salsa / chicken mixture over the top of the tortillas.
Put 1 cup of cheese on top of the mixture.
Pour half the enchilada sauce over the cheese.

Layer 2:
For next layer, place the remaining tortillas on the previous layer.
Sprinkle on the remaining cheese.
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce on top.

(Note, if there are any tortillas left, I cut them up with a knife and kind of decorate the top of casserole with a few of them). Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.
Serve toppings on the side, so you can garnish as you choose.

Note: This tastes authentic! It’s very filling on its own, but we sometimes serve it with a side of yellow rice (with a can of diced tomatoes added and stirred in)… A cheap, good-tasting side dish.