Food: Stacked Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

What can I say, it seems the tuna noodle has broken my opinion about one-dish, baked-in-the-oven meals and now I'm on a casserole kick. I don't think I've told any of you how I happened to stumble over these recipes lately. I'm on a nice vacation from work (i.e. I quit my old job to take a new job and decided to take off about a month in between stints). So I've been getting caught up on things around my house that I have neglected due to massive travel over the past couple of years. And one of those things is getting rid of old magazines and combing through past articles and recipes I've torn out, trying to make some sort of organization out of them. That's how I've managed to make two casseroles in one week. I suppose the recipes and the magazine tear-outs struck me in just the right way. (I promise the photo of this one doesn't do it justice...for some reason the lighting in the kitchen wasn't allowing the camera to pick up the nice green chile bits and the juicy salsa verde.)

Stacked Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Adapted from Bon Appetit - June 2007

INGREDIENTS

• 2 poblano chiles
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 12 (5- to 6-inch-diameter) corn tortillas
• 1.5, 16 oz jars salsa verde (can be found in many Mexican food sections), divided into four equal parts
• 1 small roasted chicken, skin removed, meat shredded, divided into two equal parts
• 3/4 cup sour cream, stirred to loosen
• 6 ounces grated Chihuahua cheese (about 1 1/2 cups packed)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

• Char chiles in broiler until blackened all over. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel and seed, then cut into 2x1/2-inch strips.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat medium skillet over medium heat. Brush tortillas with vegetable oil and set aside. Add 1 tortilla to skillet; cook until slightly softened, about 15 seconds per side, turning with tongs. Transfer tortilla to paper towels to drain off any excess oil. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
• Spread one portion of salsa over bottom of 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange 4 tortillas over salsa, covering bottom of dish completely, overlapping slightly, and extending about 1 1/2 inches up sides of dish. Scatter 1/2 of the chicken over tortillas, then half of poblano strips. Spoon another portion of salsa over, spreading evenly. Spoon 1/4 cup sour cream over in small dollops. Cover with 4 tortillas, overlapping slightly. Layer with remaining chicken, remaining poblanos, another portion of salsa, and 1/4 cup sour cream. Cover with remaining 4 tortillas, remaining salsa, and remaining 1/4 cup sour cream. Sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake casserole until bubbling and cheese is lightly browned, about 35 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces; divide among plates. Sprinkle with cilantro.