Mini Chilaquiles Casseroles Recipes

CHILAQUILES CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini, beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are heated through, about 3 minutes.
• Scatter half the tortilla pieces in the pan. Top with half the vegetable mixture, half the enchilada sauce and half the cheese. Repeat with one more layer of tortillas, vegetables, sauce and cheese. Cover with foil.
• Bake the casserole for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole is bubbling around the edges and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes more.

CHICKEN CHILAQUILES CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the tortilla wedges on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Lightly coat both sides of the tortilla with vegetable oil spray.
• Bake the tortilla wedges until they are lightly browned and begin to crisp, 8 to 12 minutes. Flip the tortilla wedges and continue to bake until the chips are fully toasted, 8 to 12 minutes longer. Set the tortilla wedges aside and turn the oven to 500 degrees.
• Combine the poblano chiles, 1 cup of the onions, Melt®, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a 12-inch skillet. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat to medium-high, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes longer.
• Stir in 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, garlic, and chipotles and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice and the broth. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season with 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Nestle the chicken breasts into the sauce and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, about 5 minutes. When the sauce simmers, flip the chicken, cover, and continue to cook until the chicken registers 160 to 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes longer.
• Transfer the chicken to a plate. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces. Process the sauce in a blender until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Return the sauce to the skillet, season with salt and pepper to taste, bring to a simmer over medium heat.
• Stir in the tortillas and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the shredded chicken, then transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake on the lower-middle rack until hot throughout, 5 to 10 minutes.

CHILAQUILES CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini, beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are heated through, about 3 minutes.
• Scatter half the tortilla pieces in the baking dish. Top with about half the vegetable mixture, about half the enchilada sauce and half the cheese. Repeat with one more layer of tortillas, vegetables, sauce and cheese. Cover with foil.
• Bake the casserole for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole is bubbling around the edges and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes more.

MINI CHILAQUILES CASSEROLES

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
• Very lightly spray four .25 quart mini Dutch ovens with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl combine corn kernels, black beans, jalapeño, diced tomatoes, and cilantro leaves. Mix briefly to combine.
• Layer the bottom of each mini Dutch oven with about 1/3 cup of lightly crushed tortilla chips. Add ¼ cup salsa over the tortilla chip layer, followed by the corn/black bean/tomato mixture. Press down lightly on the solids. Add another ¼ cup salsa to each mini Dutch oven, layer with tortilla chips, and top with cheese.
• Place in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until the cheese has melted and salsa bubbles slightly. Remove from the oven. Garnish with chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, and jalapeños if desired.
• Serve hot.

GREEN CHICKEN CHILAQUILES CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large saucepan. Place the breasts in the stock, reduce the heat to moderate, cover and cook until the meat is tender, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool in the stock. When cool, remove the skin and bones and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces. Strain and reserve the stock for another use.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the fresh tomatillo salsa, heavy cream, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the onion and shredded chicken pieces.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the tortillas just about 5 seconds per side to soften, and then transfer to a large colander to drain.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 4 quart casserole or 6 to 8 individual casseroles (at the restaurant, we use small soup bowls).
• Combine the cheeses in a mixing bowl.
• To assemble the chilaquiles, spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture over the bottom of the baking dish. Push the solids in the bowl of chicken and tomatillo sauce to the side so the liquids form a pool in the bottom. Dip all the softened tortillas in the pool to moisten. Layer one third of the moist tortillas over the cheese and top with half of the chicken mixture with its sauce. Sprinkle half of the remaining cheese over the chicken. Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of tortillas on top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake 30 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown. Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving or unmolding.
• In blender place tomatillos, jalapenos and water. Puree until just chunky. Add remaining ingredients and puree about 2 minutes more, or until no large chunks remain. This salsa keeps in the refrigerator, in a covered container, about 3 days.
• In large bowl combine all ingredients and stir until smooth. The dough should be slightly sticky and form a ball when pressed together. To test, flatten a small piece of dough between your palms. If the edges crack, add water to the dough, a tablespoon at a time, until a test piece does not crack.
• Divide the dough into 24 golf ball size pieces for tacos and 12 large balls for quesadillas. Place on a platter and cover with a damp towel. Line a tortilla press with 2 sheets of plastic cut from a plastic freezer bag or other heavy duty plastic bag.
• Heat a dry cast iron skillet, or non-stick pan until moderately hot. Flatten each ball of dough in the tortilla press, then remove the plastic from the top and, holding the tortilla with your fingertips, peel off the bottom sheet. Lay the tortillas one by one on the skillet and cook about 30 to 45 seconds per side, pressing the top of each tortilla with your fingertips to make it puff. Place the hot tortillas on a towel.
• When they are still warm but not hot, stack and wrap in a towel. Serve immediately or let cool, wrap well in plastic or a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator up to a week.

SIMPLE CHIPOTLE CHILAQUILES (TORTILLA "CASSEROLE")

Steps:

• Make the chips or measure out the store bought chips. For the sauce. If using drained canned tomatoes, place them in a blender jar. If using fresh tomatoes, spread the onto a baking sheet and place them 4 inches below a very hot broiler. When they are darkly roasted (they'll be blackened in spots), about 6 minutes, flip them over and roast the other side-5 to 6 minutes more will give you splotchy-black and blistered tomatoes that are soft and cooked through. Cool. Working over your baking sheet, pull off and discard the blackened skins, and for round tomatoes, cut out the hard cores where the stems were attached. Transfer to a blender, along with all the juices on the baking sheet. If using canned chipotles, add them to the blender, seeds and all, If using dried chipotles, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes, turning frequently until very aromatic. Place in a small bowl, cover with hot tap water and let rehydrate 30 minutes. Drain and add to the blender. Blend the tomatoes and chiles to a puree, but one that still retains a little texture. You should have 2 1/4 cups puree. Over medium heat, set a medium-large wide pot (like a 4-quart Dutch oven of Mexican cazuela) or a deep, large (12-inch) saute pan-you'll need a lid for whatever vessel you choose. Measure the oil, add half of the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until richly golden, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for another minute, then raise the heat to medium-high. Add the tomato puree and stir nearly constantly for 4 to 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens somewhat. Stir in the broth or water and season with salt. The sauce needs to be seasoned highly with salt, but watch out if your chips or broth is already salted. Cover the pot if not continuing with step 2 right away. You should have 4 1/2 cups broth mixture. To cook and serve the chilaquiles. Set out the crema, chicken and cheese. Put the pot over medium high heat until the broth mixture boils. Stir in the epazote (if you're using cilantro, set it aside to add later) and the tortilla chips, coating all the chips well. Let return to a rolling boil, cover tightly and turn off the heat. Let stand 5 minutes (no longer). Immediately uncover and very carefully stir to coat the chips evenly with the sauce and to check that the chips have softened nicely-they should be a little chewy, not mushy. (If they are too chewy, stir in a little more broth, cover and set over medium heat for 3 or 4 more minutes). Sprinkle with the cilantro, if that is the herb you're using. Either spoon onto warm individual plates in the kitchen or serve directly from the vessel it was made in. Whichever you choose, drizzle the chilaquiles with the crema (or one of its stand-ins), strew with the remaining sliced onion and the optional shredded chicken, and dust generously with the finely crumbled cheese.;