Brielle's Avalon

When I was a kid my sisters and I would make an assembly line when it was enchilada night. I’d prep the tortillas, one sister would dip them in enchilada sauce and the other would fill them. Sometimes we made stacked and sometimes we made rolled. When we all grew up and moved out we weren’t in the same place to do assembly lines so my middle sister decided to use the stacked method and instead of making individual enchiladas just built it up in a casserole. So here’s how.

This is one way I have of using up leftover meat from roasts or whatever.

I use store bought, canned sauce. This time I used green sauce instead of red. It seems to be milder. They both come in mild or hot, so you can get whichever you’re more comfortable with. I find that if I go with mild anyone can add heat if they want to but it’s harder to take heat out than put it in.

Heat up the cast iron skillet, out in a bit of oil and heat each tortilla just enough to soften it.

Dip it in enchilada sauce, put it in the pan and fill it with meat, cheese, onions, green chilis, olives…whatever sounds good.

Roll it up. Put a little enchilada sauce in the bottom of a pan. Repeat until the pan’s full, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over them, top with cheese and bake until cheese is melty and the whole thing is bubbly.

OR

Dip a soft tortilla in enchilada sauce, put it on the pan, sprinkle fillings on

Top with another tortilla dipped in sauce, sprinkle with cheese. Repeat til pan is full, pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas, sprinkle liberally with cheese and bake till all are bubbly.

OR

Put a little sauce in the bottom of a casserole, put 3 dipped tortillas in the bottom, sprinkle fillings on.

Repeat

Repeat

Put 3 more dipped tortillas on top, sprinkle with the rest of the chopped onions, olives, cheese and pour the rest of the sauce over all. Put on a tray (in case the casserole overflows) and bake at 350 f for about an hour til the cheese is melted and it’s all bubbly.

Lightly tent with foil and let it sit at least 15 minutes so it can firm up. Or make it one night, have tostadas or tacos for dinner and re-heat the enchilada casserole tomorrow when everything’s had a chance to fully combine and let the flavours develop. This time I let it cool, put it in the fridge and re-heated it another evening. I think I’ll do this more, since it wasn’t too gloopy at all, just a bit loose. Pro tip: To help the center heat up put a spoon ibn the center. Heat transference is your friend. Also pro tip: When you take the casserole out of the oven, take the spoon out of the center BEFORE you put down the oven mitt. That spoon is HOT! If you try to pick it up without protection you will yell bad words and drop it on the floor. You can stop laughing now. Whatever makes you think I know this from experience? Ahem…

Serve with refried beans and guacamole and Spanish rice or tacos or tamales or a cheese crisp whatever other Mexican dishes you happen to make. Sour cream is, of course, optional. Beer is nice, to, as is a lovely Mexican wine. Or you can go with your favourite soda. Drinking soda from stemware is just as appropriate as drinking wine from tumblers. Stemware makes everything taste better, though.