Chicken and Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- butter (for greasing pan)
- 2 c cooked pinto beans
- salt
- pepper
- 1 c sliced tomato (use tomatillos if available, canned are fine)
- 1/2 c chopped onion
- 1 chopped shallot (approx 2 T)
- 200 g canned chopped tomatoes
- 200 g salsa
- 1 t chipotle paste
- 1 c cooked chicken (shredded)
- 1/2 T fajita seasoning
- 1 t ground cumin
- 1/4 t dried thyme
- 1 t dried oregano
- fresh cilantro
- 1 c shredded cheese (Mexicana or Monterey Jack or Chihuahua or cotija)
- lime wedges (for garnish)
Method
Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 8" square baking dish or casserole.
Mix chopped tomatoes, salsa, and chipotle paste together; set aside.
Put about half the beans in the bottom (sprinkle with salt and pepper if they need it, followed by a layer of sliced tomatoes (or tomatillos), then the onions and shallot, then the salsa mixture, then the chicken, then the seasonings, then the cheese. Repeat.
Bake, covered, until the casserole is hot, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the baking dish. Remove foil and bake a further 5 minutes, until cheese is bubbly. Garnish with lime wedges if you like.
Notes
SJ Note 26 Sept 2009: This will require some more tweaking; it needs more cheese (reflected here) and liquid - chicken broth would be best. I will play with the leftovers and see what works.
SJ Note May 2014: It's too dry. I've added chopped tomatoes & salsa to try to counteract that. Will try again.