Best Simple Chipotle Chilaquiles Tortilla Casserole Recipes

CHIPOTLE CHILAQUILES

Steps:

• NOTE: for the tomatoes, drain them lightly and don't drain them completely dry, or you may have to supplement the sauce with jarred salsa (see sauce preparation instructions below).
• NOTE: for the chicken, I usually season 3 skinless boneless breast halves with Tone's Lime Pepper seasoning or Goya Adobo con Pimiento, then toss them on the Foreman grill for about 8 minutes.
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• TO PREPARE THE TORTILLA CHIPS:.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Stack tortillas into three piles of four tortillas each. Cut each pile like a pie into 8 sections.
• Spray 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray. Divide the tortilla chips between the two pans, keeping them in as much of a single layer as possible.
• Mist the chips with cooking spray, and bake them (stirring them a bit, once or twice) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
• Sprinkle with salt, if desired.
• TO PREPARE THE SAUCE:.
• Pour the drained tomatoes and the chipotles (seeds and all) into a blender. Coarsely puree the mixture (it shouldn't be totally smooth).
• You need to have approximately 2 1/4 cups of puree. If you come up short, rather than using another partial can of tomatoes, you can supplement the mixture with some jarred salsa (I use taqueria salsa from either Goya or La Victoria).
• In a large Dutch oven with a lid, heat the vegetable oil and cook about 1/2 cup of the onion, stirring regularly, for about 7 minutes or until golden.
• Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring so garlic doesn't burn.
• Increase heat to medium-high and add tomato/chipotle puree. Stir almost constantly until the mixture thickens up a bit, about 4 or 5 minutes.
• Stir in the broth, and salt to taste (keeping in mind the salt that will be added from the chips, if you used it).
• FINAL COOKING AND ASSEMBLY:.
• Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the chips and stir to coat.
• Bring sauce and chips to a rolling boil again. Cover the pan, turn off the heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes (no longer, because the chips should be s bit chewy and not mushy). Sprinkle cilantro into the pot.
• Dish out mixture onto 4 warm plates. Divide chicken evenly over top of tortilla mixture and stir lightly to coat chicken with sauce. Top with crema or thinned sour cream, remaining chopped onions and both cheeses, then serve.

SIMPLE CHIPOTLE CHILAQUILES

Steps:

• Heat the broiler. Spread the tomatoes onto a baking sheet and broil until they are darkly roasted, about 6 minutes a side.
• (Note: Chef Bayless uses half a large onion, but this recipe has substituted 1 small onion instead.) Cut the onion in half, then cut both halves into ¼-inch slices; reserve half of the slices for garnish. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or a deep, large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the sliced onion and cook, stirring regularly, until golden, about 7 minutes. Peel and mince the garlic cloves; add to golden onions and stir until soft, 1 more minute.
• Remove the roasted tomatoes from the oven and transfer to a blender. Add the chipotles and blend to a coarse purée. Pour the mixture into the pan with the sautéed onions and garlic; cook over medium-high heat until the sauce has thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the epazote or cilantro and the broth. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a rolling boil; taste and add more salt if necessary. Add the chips and make sure they are coated with the sauce; then cover the pan and turn off the heat. Allow to rest until the chips have soaked up the sauce, 5 minutes.
• Gently stir the chilaquiles before spooning them into a serving dish. Top with the remaining half of the onion slices and garnish with the crema, queso anejo, and additional epazote or cilantro.

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.

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.

CHIPOTLE CHILAQUILES

Steps:

• Coat a large saucepan with olive oil. Toss in the onion, season with salt and bring to medium heat. Cook the onion until soft and very aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. Toss in the garlic, jalapeno and chorizo and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, breaking up the meat with a spoon.
• Add the chopped cilantro, chipotles, adobo sauce and tomatoes. Season with salt, taste and season again if needed. Stir in 1 cup water, increase the heat to high, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the mixture has a good saucy consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• While the sauce cooks, fill a large saucepan with about 3 inches of canola oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to about 375 degrees F (or add a slice of tortilla to the oil -- when it sizzles, starts to float and crisps up, it's ready). While the oil heats up, put a couple of paper towels on a baking sheet next to the stove. When the oil is hot, work in batches to fry the tortillas until they are crispy chips. Remove the chips from the oil, drain on the paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss a third of the chips with a third each of the tomato sauce and cheeses. Spread the chip mixture in the bottom of a large ovenproof casserole dish, then top with another third of the chips, sauce and cheeses. Repeat the process with the remaining chips, sauce and cheeses. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
• When the casserole comes out of the oven, coat a large saute pan lightly with olive oil. Add the eggs (you will probably have to work in batches to fry all of them -- no worries) and bring the pan to medium heat. Cook the eggs until the whites are cooked through and the yolks are warm and runny, about 4 minutes. Place the fried eggs on top of the chips. Sprinkle with the whole cilantro leaves. Serve with the lime wedges and crema.