Creamy Cheesy Enchilada Casserole with Chicken, Corn & Peas

Got Leftovers? If you've bought a rotisserie chicken from the market and are looking for a recipe to use up the leftovers - like leg, wing and backbone meat, then read on for a delish dish with a Latin flare: my Creamy Cheesy Enchilada Casserole with Chicken, Corn & Peas.

If you cook with turkey pieces, they are too huge to use all at once, so take a bite out of the those leftovers, too.

Add a package of cheese, a tub of sour cream, frozen veggies like corn and green peas, plus a can of enchilada sauce, and you have a one pot meal for the whole family. 

I use cans of enchilada sauce (sometimes listed as red chili sauce) quite often. It especially goes well with poultry in entrees like: Stuffed Bell Peppers and Chicken Tinga Stew.

Chicken is cheap anytime and turkey segments come on sale quite often, especially during the winter holidays. I get mine from my local Latin market.

Frozen veggies hold up better than canned when baking, so use frozen, or lightly steam fresh veggies for this Mexican-style casserole.

I can always find corn tortillas and sour cream at my local 99c only Stores. You should lightly brown tortillas in a pan to dry them out somewhat, so the enchilada sauce with sour cream does not dissolve away the tortillas (which happened the first time I baked this.)

You need an oven proof pan or dish, but don't fill it up all the way, it may bubble over - always leave an inch from the top lip. You may want to place a cookie sheet under the heating casserole dish in case it overflows.

Since the ingredients are pre-cooked, all you are doing is heating it up, so the baking time is quick, only about half an hour.

Try out my Latin-themed one dish entree, Creamy Cheesy Enchilada Casserole with Chicken, Corn & Peas, and save some leftovers for your weekly work lunches, too.

Ingredients (about 4-6 servings)

• 2 cups shredded cooked turkey - okay to use roasted or boiled chichen.
• 2 cups veggies - I used frozen (and defrosed) corn and peas. Okay to use any favorite frozen veggie combo. You can use fresh, lighlty steamed, veggies too.
• 2 cups enchilada sauce - 1 small can, add a little water or stock to bring up to 2 cups, if necessary. Okay to use red canned chili sauce.
• 1 cup sour cream - or cottage cheese. Light, low calorie, or regular.
• 2 cups cheese - shredded, sliced or crumbled. I used pepper jack cheese, but use any budget cheese you like.
• 6-8 small corn tortillas - whole and/or torn in half. Cut tortillas to fit a large casserole dish or deep pan.
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil - to lightly brown corn tortillas.

Directions
Start with firming up tortillas by lightly browning corn tortillas for 2-4 minutes. This will keep tortillas from dissolving or falling apart when baking with liquid ingredients. As tortillas heat up move on to assembling casserole.

Defrost frozen veggies. Either soak in water (then drain) or allow to come to room temperature. Shred cooked turkey or chicken into bite-sized pieces. Slice, shred or crumble cheese.

In a large bowl lightly mix 2 cups of enchilada sauce and 1 cup of sour cream, or cottage cheese.

Now time to bring it all together. In a large casserole dish or deep pan add a thin layer of creamy enchilada sauce. Next add a single layer of tortillas. Spread on a thin layer of enchilada sauce. Next pile on a layer of turkey, cheese and veggies. Spoon on another layer of enchilada sauce.

Layer on tortillas, sauce, turkey, veggies and cheese until you almost reach the top. I used 3 layers of tortillas total.

Save some cheese and sauce to top the Enchilada Casserole with. Also stop about an inch from the top of dish. You need some room as sauce and other ingredients melt and bubble. You may want a cookie sheet underneath casserole dish in case it bubbles over some.

Cover casserole dish with lid or foil. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. If you want the cheese lightly browned then uncover the baking dish during the last 10 minutes of baking.

Serve hot. A delish side dish is my Mom's Mexican Rice, recipe is a click away, here.

Rice Bowl with Chicken & Veggies

For all my university dorm room dwelling visitors I have a cheap and quickie meal for you. And it's even nutritious! So get out the hot plate and cook up my steamed Rice Bowl with Chicken & Veggies recipe. This tasty meal is cheap too.

And it's a one pot meal that only takes the time to cook a cup of rice. And as for vegetables, I add a frozen veggie mix. There are a lot of different types, so you can use any favorite, like: Oriental Stir Fry, California Blend, and Cauliflower, Broccoli, Peas, Corn and Carrots. You can even combine almost any other veggies you find in your local grocery frozen case.

For protein I add a small can of cooked chicken. It's about the size of a can of tuna. If you prefer cooked roasted chicken from your neighborhood grocery, then use some of that.

If you want to kick the meal up a notch, then top it all with a fried egg. Many Eastern cultures top an entree with a fried egg. Mix in a creamy yolk with the Rice Bowl and you'll see and taste why.

One pound packages of frozen veggies are cheap at any grocery store or Dollar Tree. You know how inexpensive rice is. As for chicken I get small cans of it from my local 99c only Store.

If chicken is too expensive then top the cooked veggies and rice with a fried or scrambled egg. Of course, you can keep this meal vegetarian and leave out the chicken and egg.

You can drizzle on my Rice Bowl with Chicken & Veggies a favorite condiment, like soy sauce, chili sauce, sweet and sour sauce, hot sauce, or anything you have on hand.

So just dump in those cheap ingredients into a pot and and get to cooking. You and your dorm roommate can devote your new found time to studying (yeah, right) while my simple and tasty recipe cooks away.

Ingredients (about 2 servings) 
1 cup of rice - white or brown rice.
1 package of frozen veggies - about 1 pound. Okay to use any favorite type, like:  Oriental Stir Fry, California Blend, and Cauliflower, Broccoli, Peas and Carrots. You can combine any you have in the freezer.
1 small can of cooked chicken - I used a 5 ounce can. Okay to use any leftover cooked chicken, included roasted chicken from your local grocery deli department.
1 1/2cups of water - for cooking rice. Normally it's 2 cups of water, but frozen veggies also provide liquid, so less water makes for less mushy rice.
Pepper to taste - I leave out salt, as the canned chicken has enough salt for me, but you can add some if you like.
Optional - Add a fried egg on top of finished rice bowl.

Directions
 In a pot or rice cooker add water, rice, chicken and frozen veggies. You can add the liquid from the canned chicken too.

Cook according to rice package directions. Usually, bring water to a boil. Cover pot and reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Let the rice rest covered for 5 minutes more.

For extra protein, while the rice is resting, fry an egg to top your Rice Bowl with Chicken & Veggies.

Hindsight
You could use raw chicken, but cut it into small bite-size pieces, so it cooks all the way through. And mix chicken into the rice and water. When done, cut into largest piece of chicken to make sure there is no pink color.

To fry an egg, like they do for a Japanese rice bowl, just add a tablespoon of oil to your egg pan over a medium heat. Crack an egg and add it to pan, careful not to break the yellow yolk. Now just let it cook until the white is cooked solid and the yolk is still soft. No need to turn the egg. When egg is done gently scrape it loose from the pan. Place the fried egg on the Rice Bowl when serving.

This meal is easy to reheat in the microwave the next day, too.