My own recipe:



Chicken Tortilla Casserole (originally posted on a BBQ forum I used to be in)

Ingredients
2 to 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken (maybe 2 to 3 breasts) The more the better usually
A bag of Small Corn Tortillas
Chicken broth or stock - about 2 cups
1 - 28 ounce can of Rotel Diced tomatoes & chilis (or can of tomatoes plus diced chiles)
1 - 3.8 Ounce of sliced black olives, drained (about one full cup) more if you love olives
1 - 15 ounce can of black beans rinsed and drained
1 cup of finely chopped onion - sautee until translucent, set aside
2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley if no cilantro on hand or none of the above if you don't like either)
3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese or more if you like loads of cheese


Directions

In a separate pan..pour about a cup of the broth and then let a stack of tortillas soak in it for a few minutes.

Take an Oven safe baking dish ( a deep one) and spray with Pam. Then, pour a couple of ounces of chicken sotck in it. Layer the corn tortillas on the bottom, letting them soak up the broth. Cut the tortillas to fit the pan. make seamless layer.

Then, put a thin layer of the Rotel Diced tomatoes with Chiles (or other canned tomatoes plus some chopped chiles), followed by a sprinkling of the shredded chicken, a sprinkle of onions, a sprinkle of cilantro, a sprinkle of olives, a sprinkle of beans, and a light sprinkle of cheese.

Then remove some of the tortillas that have been soaking and make another seamless layer and repeat as above. Usually you get two or three layers of ingredients. make sure you reserve at least one cup of the cheese to put on the top layer. When you get to the top layer of tortillas, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and then bake in a 350 Degree Oven for one hour. If you have leftover broth and feel the casserole could use the moisture, crefully add it before putting in to bake.

Casserole should have a crisp crust on top but have tender layers that are easy to cut through. About the onions - some folks prefer to saute them beofre layring them. That helps eliminate some of the indigestion some folks might get from bulb vegetables.

VARIATION: add very small and conservative dollops of sour cream (or cream cheaese) to each layer. I sometimes do that. You can also add green onions.

The beauty of this casserole is that it takes very little time to assemble and requires nothing more than a hot oven. try it the next time you have leftover chicken. I always make sure to have canned olives and Rotel tomatoes & chilis on hand for when I need a quick dinner.

If you don't have leftover chicken - just parboil 3 full breasts of chicken until done, allow to cool, rinse and then shred. This recipe doubles and triples well. The casserole can be made a day in advance and reheated. great for Potluck or for bringing as a gift to someone who is ill, just had a baby, or a family that is grieving.


When I double this or triple it, I make it in a lined with foil lasagna pan. If I'm making it very small, I use a round casserole dish which is good eating for 4 people. It's really not rocket science, just take all the ingredients and layer them.