Smoky Chicken and Chorizo Mexican Enchilada Baked Casserole
This recipe was made from leftovers and has been requested again ALREADY by Malcolm, my husband! Cooked chicken is mixed with smoky, hot chorizo sausage and folded through a chipotle chilli tomato sauce..........sounds too hot?! I then added some sweet corn, sour cream and a jar of mild salsa to calm it down a bit, but please DO use hot salsa if you like a little spice in your life! I topped this with a dollop of sour cream and dressed it with chopped jalapeno peppers, parsley and a little chopped coriander (cilantro) for a perfect cold weather lunch. I devised this recipe especially for the Two for One Leftovers event in the Cooking Photo's Forum. Please adjust the chilli powder to your own requirements. I like spicy food but Malcolm does not, so I topped mine with loads of chopped jalapeno peppers and a sprinkling of chipotle chilli powder!! NB: I used Spanish chorizo sausage, which is cured; if you are using fresh chorizo sausage, it needs to be browned beforehand.(I made this original recipe with leftovers from KissKiss's Recipe #368069. However, ANY cooked chicken will do for this!) NOTE on adding water to salsa: My salsa was VERY thick and adding the water made it much better when baked; if your salsa is a very runny one already, do not add the water!
INGREDIENTS
Nutrition- 2cups chopped cooked chicken
- 6
- 2cups mild salsa
- 1⁄2
- 1⁄2teaspoon garlic powder
- 2teaspoons dried chipotle powder (more or less to personal taste)
- salt and pepper
- 15
- 1⁄4
- 1
- 6
- 2
-
- chopped jalapeno pepper, to serve
DIRECTIONS
- Pre-heat oven to 175C/350°F Grease an 8" square or an oval baking dish.
- Mix the cooked chicken and chopped chorizo sausage together, and then set aside.
- Empty the salsa into a large mixing bowl, add the water (if using), garlic powder, chipotle chilli powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix well. Adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Pour 1/4 of the salsa mixture over the base of the greased baking dish and then layer 1/4 of the flour tortilla strips over the top. Scatter some of the chopped olives and sweet corn over and then add some of the chopped chicken and chorizo. Top with more salsa and continue to layer in this pattern, until the last layer. For the last layer, spoon the sour cream over the top before finishing with the salsa mixture and then scatter the grated/shredded cheese over the top. (Can be frozen at this stage, cover and freeze for up to 2 months.).
- Cover the casserole with aluminium foil and bake for 35 minutes; take the foil off and finish baking for 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the topping is bubbling and the cheese is melted and golden.
- Serve immediately with sour cream, jalapeño peppers and chopped cilantro or parsley. I find that a green salad is the perfect accompaniment to this, but rice would also be good.
- To cook from the freezer: Thaw the casserole in the fridge for 24 hours before removing for 30 minutes, before baking as instructed before.