Chicken and Bean Enchilada

FRUGAL TIPS:

Make your Homemade Chicken Stock and use the meat from a whole chicken for several recipes including this recipe. Grab the recipes here: Instant Pot Whole Chicken and Gut-Healing Chicken Stock.
I always buy a 2-lb bag of beans and cook it in my Instant Pot. Divide the beans into however many cups you usually use the beans for. For example, I freeze mine into 3-cup Ziploc bags. You can also use a freezer-friendly food container. You can read about how I cook my beans using a slow cooker and how I make other pantry staples here: 9 Pantry Staples that you can Make at Home
Make your own enchilada sauce. I used whatever ingredients I had on hand. But you can always use a can of enchilada sauce. To further extend the sauce, you can add water, broth, or a can of tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

2 cooked chicken breast, shredded or 3-4 cups of cooked shredded chicken.

1 1/2 cup of black beans, drain if using canned beans.

1 1/2 cup of corn, drain if using canned corn.

1 tsp of chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

corn tortillas

2-3 tbsp of olive oil (or any cooking oil)

Enchilada sauce:

El Pato tomato sauce

REgular tomato sauce

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp flour (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet or cast iron, saute onion, corn, and garlic.

Add the black beans. I added the beans last because it was already pre-cooked. You can always use a can of black beans.

Add the seasonings and the shredded chicken and cook just until the all the flavors nd the ingredients are well incorporated,

MAKE YOUR SAUCE: You can always buy a can of enchilada sauce but I did not have any on hand so I just made my own enchilada sauce. I used these two types of tomato sauce.

In a separate bowl, mix all the ingredients of the enchilada sauce (2 cans of tomato sauce, 1 tbsp chili powder,1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp cumin,1 tbsp flour.

Now it's time to layer our enchilada. Grab your corn tortillas, chicken and beans, cheese, and enchilada sauce. I used a 9x13 casserole dish. Spray your casserole dish with a nonstick cooking spray. Pour and spread a small amount of the enchilada sauce as your first layer. Followed by the chicken beans then cheese, followed by the corn tortillas.

Pour enough sauce on top of the corn tortillas.

Repeat the process ending with shredding cheese on top. Bake the enchilada casserole for about 30-40 minutes.

You can use any cheese you have on hand. There were plenty of leftovers for the next day.

If you find the El Pato Tomato sauce to be very spicy, you can use two regular tomato sauces. I love it when we have plenty of leftovers for the next day. My husband can pack it for lunch and I certainly do not mind having it for my lunch too. Packing lunches from home is definitely one of the many effective ways we save money

Top the enchilada casserole dish with your favorite toppings such as sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and green onions. I love fresh chopped tomatoes and green onions as my toppings