Enchilada Casserole - Part II

Today, we are continuing with the second installment for the enchilada casserole.

If you missed it, here is the link to Enchilada Casserole Part I.


Utensils:
large microwave safe bowl
1 10 x 14 inch baking pan or dish
silicone scraper
ladle or cup
non-stick spatula

Ingredients:
2 family size cans cream of mushroom soup
1 to 2 cups of milk for thinning soup
24 fried corn tortillas (see part 1 for instructions)
2 - 3 cups of taco meat
1/2 medium onion, diced finely
2 - 5 small cloves of garlic, minced (if you like a lot of garlic, use it!!)
1 - 2 pounds of grated cheese (I use one-half cheddar and one-half mozarella)
2 small cans of roasted and peeled chopped green chilis (you can substitute jalapeño or bell pepper if you like)

1. Place the soup and milk in the bowl.
2. Warm in the microwave for around 2 minutes.
3. Once mixture is slightly warm, put in the taco meat, green chilis, onion and the garlic.
4. Heat for another minute in microwave. Mixture needs to be where you can pour and spread it easily on each layer.
   
5. Preheat your oven to 350° - place the top rack on the middle shelf, then put a cookie sheet or aluminum foil on the rack.
   
6. In the baking dish, pour a layer of the soup/meat mixture.
7. Place a layer of the fried corn tortillas on the soup mixture.
8. Pour a thin layer of soup mixture on the tortillas. It doesn't have to cover them completely, as it will spread out during cooking.
9. Sprinkle a layer of the cheddar and mozarella cheese onto the soup mixture.
10. Place another layer of tortillas on the cheese and continue the process until you have 3 or more layers of "goodies" in the pan. You want to stop about 1/4" below the lip of the pan to allow for the bubbling of the soup.
11. Cover the top layer with one last batch of cheese.
12. Place the casserole into the oven on the cookie sheet or foil.
13. Bake for at least an hour. It is better if you cook it for 1.5 hours as the fresh garlic and onion have a chance to cook more thouroughly.
14. Remove from oven and let it cool for 30 minutes before serving (if you can wait that long).
15. Serve with shredded lettuce, salsa, or pico de gallo.

Hope you like this one. It doesn't last long around my house. Have a great day and God Bless!!