Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

I found this recipe on the blog "The Girl Who Ate Everything". I wondered if it would be too spicy but it turned out just right. In fact, all three of my kids had 2nds and some had 3rds. Everyone loved it. I made small changes to the recipe. The best part is you can prepare the main chicken portion early so that at dinner time you just have to layer everything into the baking dish.

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/11/chicken-and-black-bean-enchilada.html

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts, shredded

½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4.5 oz) can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 (8 oz) container sour cream

Directions:

BOIL chicken in water for at least 15 minutes or longer depending on thickness of chicken breasts. Remove chicken from pot and shred. Boiling longer makes chicken more tender, making shredding easier.

HEAT a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Sauté chicken with cumin, coriander, and garlic powder until well blended with chicken. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the cilantro, black beans, and green chili peppers.

SPREAD half of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish that has been greased. Place 4 tortillas over the sauce, overlapping them. Layer half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, and sprinkle with half of the cheese and half of the sour cream.

SPREAD the remaining enchilada sauce over the cheese, and make another layer of tortillas. Layer the remaining chicken mixture over the tortillas, and sprinkle with cheese and sour cream.

COVER dish with a lid or aluminum foil.

PREHEAT the oven to 375°f. Bake for 30 minutes.

REMOVE the cover, and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and dot with sour cream. Continue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Gina's Tips: I used a 9x13 baking dish so I used 4 chicken breasts. I used a bigger 28 oz can of enchilada sauce because I spread enchilada sauce, sour cream, and cheese over every layer including the top because it made it tastier throughout and juicier. I don't measure my cheese I just cover the chicken mixture until I can't see much of what is underneath. I had flour tortillas which were soft taco size so I used those and it tasted great. I skipped the sauté step and just stirred the chicken mixture in a bowl. The second time I made it I sautéd the chicken and I really didn't taste much of a difference. I didn't have coriander on hand so I sprinkled some fajita seasoning in. Yum.