Four open jars of salsa...really?

Stacked Enchilda

After bringing home the leftover food from our scouting double header last week, I was left with four assorted open jars of salsa (and tons of bananas, but that's another post).  What to do with this salsa?  I didn't want to keep it around too long, as my fridge is so full of miscellany that I sometimes lose things in there, and they were all "mild," and we prefer something a little warmer.  My bargain purchases for the week had included corn tortillas, canned refried beans, and a rotisserie chicken, so my thoughts took a culinary trip south of the border. 

A while back, Memoria, of Mangio da Sola, had written about her stacked enchiladas.  While obviously not using homemade tortillas or enchilada sauce, I thought I would do something akin to hers, but as a Semi-Homemade version.  I dumped the jars of salsa into the blender and found that I had roughly 3 cups.  I pureed the salsa until smooth and had a taste- it tasted very fresh, but lacked a depth of flavor and any heat, so I dropped in 2 cubes of Knorr Chipotle Seasoning and gave it another whirl.  This was perfect, but not so spicy that the little guy couldn't eat it. I layered up the enchiladas, using the bits of shredded jack and cheddar cheese I had in the fridge, popped then in the oven and presto, an easy, quick, and tasty dinner (and 4 glass salsa jars in the recycling bin :).

Stacked Enchiladas

24 oz. (about) salsa, whatever you have on hand

2 Knorr chipotle cubes, or 2 canned chipotles (optional)

15 corn tortillas

1 15oz. can refried beans

3 cups (about) cooked and shredded chicken

shredded cheddar and/or jack cheese about 2 cups (or more if you like)

To serve: sliced scallions, shredded lettuce, pickled jalapeño slices, cubed avocado, and sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Puree the salsa in a blender until smooth, taste and then blend in the chipotle if desired; set aside.  Spray a baking dish (or two) with cooking spray, using whatever size(s) needed to accommodate five tortillas.  Spread a small amount of the pureed salsa in the bottom of the dishes.  Spread 5 tortillas evenly with the refried beans and lay in the dishes.  Sprinkle with a small amount of cheese and and layer with another tortilla.  Spread the shredded chicken over the five stacks- it will seem like a lot and some may spill down the sides, but don't worry.  Sprinkle with a bit more cheese and top with the remaining tortillas.  Spoon the remaining salsa over the stacks and top with the remaining cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and the cheese has just started to brown.  These are even better the next day.

 I wasn't thinking and used the jack cheese inside and the cheddar out; it would have been much more appetizing the other way around.