Chicken Enchilada Lasagna

Chicken is poached with onion, tomato, garlic and cilantro. Corn tortillas are layered with the chicken, the sauce mixture, shredded cheese, and additional cilantro.

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Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 small bunch of cilantro
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 large can red chili sauce
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 18 corn tortillas
• 4 cups shredded cheese (Mexican fiesta blend is great or a combination of cheddar and Monterey jack is also good)

Method

Remove any visible fat and undesirable cartilage pieces from chicken. Remove large stems from cilantro; coarsely chop the remainder and divide into 3 parts. Place chicken in a large pot with 1/3 of the cilantro, the onion, tomato and minced garlic. Add enough water to cover; simmer until the chicken is done. Remove chicken from pot and shred into bite size pieces; set aside. While chicken is cooking, melt butter in a large pot and add flour to make a roux. Cook over medium heat until roux is a caramel color, then add the can of red chili sauce, stirring constantly so there are no lumps. If there are any lumps at this time, use a hand-held blender to smooth them out completely before proceeding to the next step. Add milk slowly, then stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, coriander and another 1/3 of the cilantro. Once the chili sauce base and chicken are done, begin to assemble the Chicken Enchilada Lasagna. For the first layer, spoon approximately 1/4 of the chili sauce over the bottom of a 13x9" pan lined with non-stick foil. Cover with a single layer of tortillas, using 6 to completely cover, and cutting them in half if necessary. On top of the tortilla layer, sprinkle half the shredded chicken evenly. Next, sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over the chicken layer evenly. Sprinkle a few teaspoons of the remaining chopped cilantro over the cheese and finish with the second 1/4-portion of chili sauce. Repeat the layers using 6 more corn tortillas, the remaining chicken, another 1/3 portion of shredded cheese, a sprinkling of the remaining cilantro and the third 1/4-portion of chili sauce. For the final layer, you will use the remaining 6 corn tortillas, top with remainder of chili sauce, then the remainder of cheese and sprinkled with remainder of the cilantro. Cover with non-stick foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes; remove foil bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Allow to cool 10 minutes, then cut into squares.

Notes: If you have hearty eaters then this is good for 8 servings, if you like a lighter portion then cut into 10 sections and have a veggie side dish AND a salad.

Number of servings: 8-10

Submitted By: mnavin1925630
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