Mexican Chile Casserole

Growing up, one of my favorite dishes was something called Aztec Pie.  It was my mom's (well , actually, maybe my grandma's) recipe.  Long in short, anything Mexican was always my pick of what to eat, and this was no exception.  Mom baked it in tall, circular casserole dish, layering many levels of goodness.  Now that I'm a grown up and making my own food (and that my knowledge of and love for mexican food has grown) I decided to re-vamp this old favorite.  Although delicious, the original recipe is mostly made up of combining canned/pre-packaged products.  I decided for my re-vamped version to make as much from scratch as I could.  And how did it turn out?  Pretty delicious I must say!

Mexican Chile Casserolemakes 6-8 servings
- 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast (probably 2-3 depending on the size)
- 8oz. asadero cheese, shredded (see note below)
- 2 Tbs vegetable oil, divided
- 16oz. sour cream
- 2 Tbs tomato paste
- 1 1/2c. chicken broth, divided
- 3 poblano peppers
- 1 red onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 3 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 can black olives, diced
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 12-18 corn tortillas
- 1/4c. + 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. cumin, divided
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
- 1/2 tsp. corriander
- salt and pepper to taste

*** Asadero cheese is a super delicious mexican cheese.  It's flavor is similar to monterey jack, but its consistancy is closer to mozzarella.  It's easier to find than you would think - I got mine at Fred Meyer.  But if you are unable to find it or just want to use what you have on hand, substitute monterey jack or an even combination of the both.

Ok, so the list of ingredients is long, but its not hard, I promise!  First we are going start with roasting the poblanos.  Preheat your broiler and make sure an oven rack is on the top shelf.  Place the poblanos on a cookie sheet and put in the oven once heated.  You will roast these for about 5 minutes on each side.  You will know they are done when they are black and blistered.  Once done, turn your oven to 350 degrees and let the peppers cool.  Then peel off the blisters, remove the stems, and dice.

Meanwhile, Start cooking the chicken.  Heat 1 Tbs of the veg. oil in a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat.  Season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, 1 tsp. of the chili powder, 1 tsp. of the cumin, and the garlic powder.  Cook on both sides until cooked through (about 7 mins./side). 

Remove the chicken to a cutting board.  Once cool, shred the chicken.  Heat 1 Tbs. veg. oil in the pan the chicken was cooked in.  Stir in the onions and garlic, scrapping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Saute for 5 mins.  Then add the poblanos and saute another 5-7 mins, until the onions are nice and tender and the flavors have come together.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the chicken and black olives.

While the chicken and onion mixtures are cooking, prepare the sauce.  In a medium sauce pan, start to melt the sour cream over low heat.  You do not want to over heat and curdle the sour cream, but you do want it to heat through.  While it is melting down, stir in 1c. chicken broth with the tomato paste, oregano, 1/4c. chili powder, corriander, and garlic powder.  Remove from heat once sauce is done.

Using a 9x13 glass pan, lightly coat the bottom of the pan with the sauce, then toss 1/3c. sauce into the chicken mixture.  Layer 1/3 of the chicken mixture on the bottom of the pan.  Top with 1/4 of the diced tomatoes, a layer of tortillas, 1/3 of the sauce, and 1/3 of the cheese.  Repeat this to make 3 layers.  You should still have tomatoes left over to top at the end.  Pour 1/2 c. chicken broth over-top of the casserole.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Garnish with remaining tomatoes and the green onion and anything else you want (i.e. avocado or more sour cream).  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!!