Lasagna de Enchiladas

I decided to try a new twist on enchiladas by making them "lasagna" style. I saw an episode of Good Eats and this is how Alton Brown prepared his enchiladas. I like the concept, and it's quite easy if you buy the canned sauce, but it doesn't look very pretty when you plate it. But the dish is very yummy. I cut the recipe in half since it's just the two of us, but the recipe below serves 6 to 8 people. If you really like spicy food, try using the hot enchilada sauce instead.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6 to 8 Obama supporters)

• 1 (28oz) can of Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce (mild)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups shredded queso fresco or Monterey Jack
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Crème fraîche or sour cream
• Chopped cilantro
• Slices of avocado (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Place the entire can of enchilada sauce into a sauce pan wide enough to fit tortillas in it and simmer on low until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the chicken until cooked through, approximately 7 to 9 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place in a medium bowl. Add the onions to the same pan along with a generous pinch of salt decrease the heat to medium-low and sweat for 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and cook until the onions are tender, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the chicken back to the pan and 1/4 cup of the simmering enchilada sauce. Mix to combine and remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large skillet (or the same one you used to cook chicken but make sure it is clean) add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and heat on medium-high. When oil begins to shimmer, add one tortilla (or two if you can fit them) and fry for 10 to 15 seconds per side. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Repeat this with remaining tortillas.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Place 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the dish. Dip 4 tortillas into the remaining sauce and lay them into the bottom of the dish. Cut 1 of the tortillas in half to evenly cover the bottom of the dish.

Top this with half of the chicken mixture and 1 cup of the cheese. Starting with 4 more tortillas, repeat the layers, ending with the last 4 tortillas on top. Pour remaining sauce over the dish and top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese on top is bubbly. Serve slices of enchilada lasagna with a little crème fraîche and a sprinkling of cilantro and slices of avocado on the side.