Chicken & Kale Enchilada Casserole

I'm obsessed with enchiladas. Obsessed. I'm always trying new ways to create them. And my ideas usually turn out pretty wonderful. But tonight, I was kindof skeptical. I bought Kale to make smoothie packs for my husband & I. I'm not too much of a fan of Kale but I've read so many benefits to the green so I'm curious to find a way to eat it more! I only used about half the bag for the smoothie so I still had a lot left & no clue what to do. I came into the kitchen to start prepping dinner & I see this beautiful bag of Kale saying, "Use me! Use me!". So I thought, "Why not?!" 

That's when a magnificent recipe was born. 

I'd also like to say, I'm a mom of 3 kids under the age of 2. So I don't have time to roll enchiladas, so when I say we're having enchiladas, I actually mean we're having enchilada casserole. It's delicious either way so I make no apologies. None. 

I make my own enchilada sauce simply because I like it. It really doesn't take a lot of extra time & I always have the ingredients on hand because I cook the majority of our meals from scratch. If you're busy or don't have the spices for your own enchilada sauce, don't sweat it.  Canned sauce will work just as good! 

Give this simple recipe a try on your next Mexican night! 

For the sauce:

Ingredients: 

2 cans no salt added tomato sauce 

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp onion powder 

1/2 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tbsp oregano 

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. 

For the chicken mixture: 

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast, boiled & then shredded

1 cup boiling broth (or water if using pre packaged chicken)

8 oz kale (1/2 bag)

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder 

1 tbsp cumin 

2/3 cup Greek yogurt 

1/4 tsp garlic powder (for kale) 

Salt & pepper (for kale)

Directions: 

1. Put 1 cup of your boiling water (what you cooked your chicken in) into a sauce pan. Add kale. 

2. Sauté kale until wilted, add 1/4 tsp garlic powder, & salt & pepper to taste. 

3. Mix in chicken, Greek yogurt, & remaining spices. 

4. Mix all ingredients together until you get a good mixture that's thick & creamy. 

For the casserole:

Ingredients:

18 corn tortillas 

Enchilada sauce

Chicken Mixture 

1 cup of cheese

Directions: 

--set oven to 375 degrees 

1. Spray pan with nonfat cooking spray. Pour a little enchilada sauce onto bottom of the dish & spread around. 

2. Layer 6 corn tortillas to cover bottom of dish, top with more enchilada sauce. (Not to much, just enough to keep the tortillas moist & flavored!)

3. Layer 1/2 the chicken mixture onto tortillas, top with sauce (just enough to cover). 

4. Add 6 corn tortillas, a little more sauce, & the last layer of chicken. 

5. Add the remaining corn tortillas, top with your sauce. (I had a little too much sauce so I stored it in the fridge). 

6. Top with 1 cup freshly shredded Colby jack cheese.

7. Bake for 45 minutes. 

& my favorite part:

Enjoy! 

Now, I'm not saying this is THE best enchilada casserole I've ever made, but I am saying- it was pretty close. & since on top of it being absolutely wonderful it's also healthy? HECK YES! I served ours with corn on the cob & ranch beans. We all enjoyed this meal & yes, that's including my toddler :) meals in the Harmon House must be toddler approved! 

XOXOX, 

Harmon Housewife