Enchilada Lasagna

Summary

• Source: Alton Brown, Good Eats
• Genre: Mexican
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cooking Time: 1 hour
• Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

• Sauce:
  • 2 dried chipotle chilis, stems and seeds removed, diced
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 2.5 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 3 cups tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp freshly-ground black pepper
• Filling:
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
  • 1.5 cups diced white onion
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
• 12 6-inch corn tortillas
• 4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

1. Combine chilis, garlic, chili powder, cumin powder, chicken broth, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan. Set heat to high. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet (preferably without a nonstick surface) over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and saute until cooked through, approximately 7-9 minutes. Move chicken to a medium bowl but do not clean skillet. Add onion to the skillet with the pinch of salt after lowering heat to medium-low. Sweat the onions for 4-6 minutes, scraping the bottom of the skillet to bring up any browned bits of chicken remaining in the pan. Add garlic and oregano and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add chicken back to the skillet and remove from heat.
4. Spray a 9x13" glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Place 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the dish. Dip four tortillas in the sauce and lay them in the bottom of the dish. Cut one tortilla in half to evenly cover the bottom of the dish. Top tortillas with half of the chicken mixture and 1 cup of cheese. Create another layer of tortillas using four sauce-covered tortillas as before. Add remainder of chicken and 1 cup of cheese. Place four more sauce-covered tortillas on top. Pour remaining sauce over the dish and top with remaining cheese.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese on top is bubbly.