Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

I’ve really been enjoying trying out all of these new fast recipes. My goal is to have dinner on the table by 6:00pm or 6:15 so that little one can eat at the same time husband and I do. I like having all of us eat together. Growing up my family almost always sat down to eat dinner together so that’s a tradition I would like to continue.

Little one 'helping' unpack the tree.

Now that my time in the kitchen has shortened I’ve had extra time on my hands to spend with little one and husband as well as getting some of my holiday tasks completed. This is the first year I have had a tree that is half decorated. I decided not to put ornaments on the bottom half of the tree since little one is so interested in taking them off and playing with them. I figure it’s not worth the fight of constantly telling him to not touch something he finds interesting.

Last Thursday Amazing Friend came over to have dinner with us. Her husband is in med school and spends lots of time studying so I benefit from having a friend with a little extra time on her hands! She’ll watch trashy TV with me (we just finished season one of Storage Wars) and when little one goes to bed we can find some time to get crafty with yarn. She’s also recruited me to start going to Zumba so I feel a little less guilty about the fat content in some of my newest recipes!

I had some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving tucked away in the freezer so this was a natural fit for this recipe. Though, buying a rotisserie chicken when it’s on sale and freezing the meat is a great way to make sure you have precooked chicken on hand. I used a tablespoon of dried cilantro since I didn’t have any fresh but fresh is always better when you can. I decided this recipe needed more enchilada sauce so I added more. Our thoughts around the dinner table were that this would make a great dip as well if you omitted the corn tortillas and served with tortilla chips instead.

Enjoy!

2 cups shredded chicken

½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. coriander
½ tsp. garlic powder
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
15 oz. black beans, rinsed and drained
4.5 oz. diced green chili peppers
2 cups enchilada sauce
8 6 in. corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 375°.

In a medium bowl mix together the chicken, cumin, coriander, garlic powder, cilantro, black beans, and green chili peppers.

Spread half of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Place four tortillas over the sauce, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, and sprinkle with half of the cheese and dot with half of the sour cream.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the cheese, and top with remaining tortillas. Layer the remaining chicken mixture over the tortillas.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the cover, and sprinkle the remaining cheese and dot with remaining sour cream. Cook, uncovered, for an additional five to ten minutes, or until cheese melts.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Adapted from: http://www.sweettreatsmore.com/2011/10/chicken-black-bean-enchilada-casserole.html