Easy Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

We love the heck out of tortilla chips in this house...tortilla chips with salsa, chips with sour cream, chips with bean dip, chips and cheese... you name it!  And thanks to Moe's restaurant chain, I fell in love with their green tomatillo salsa.  We have tried several different store brands to capture the same taste.  None can quite compare, but the closest we have found is Herdez brand Green Salsa.  For a party this past weekend, I decided to change up my favorite chicken enchilada recipe by adding this amazing salsa into the mix.  This variation has a phenomenal flavor and quickly became my new favorite---and was so simple to make!

Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

Casserole ingredients except the sour cream

Easy Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole with Green Tomatillo Salsa
Modified from Chicken Enchilada Casserole II

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

• 16 oz container sour cream
• 16 oz jar Herdez green salsa
• 16 oz (2 cans) black beans, drained
• 30 oz canned chicken, drained
• 5 (12 inch) flour tortillas or burrito shells
• 4 cups cheddar cheese 
• (optional) Onion powder to taste
• (optional) Garlic powder to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine salsa, sour cream, and spices together in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, shred the chicken with a fork.  Stir in black beans.
4. Tear tortilla shells into strips.
5. Layer the bottom of a 13x9 baking pan with 1/3 tortilla strips.  Top with 1/3 chicken and bean mixture, 1/3 sour cream mixture, and 1/3 cheese.  Repeat layering with remaining ingredients. 
6. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.
7. Let stand 10 minutes and then serve.

Leftovers make for a tasty dip with tortilla chips!  That is, I mean, if you happen to have leftovers...which would never happen because this is so amazingly delicious.  Why do I feel so full? 

Time for Yum! Mini chocolate pudding cakes

So, we have this dessert competition every year at work.  Every year I have entered,  and every year walk away empty handed.  Well, now all of that is about to change!  Maybe...

This year I put the dessert to vote and asked which folks would like best:

• Lemon cake with cardamom icing and pistachio garnish
• Banana cream tarts with sweet cream, fresh banana, and ground walnuts
• Chocolate pudding cake with whip cream, topped with raspberry and chocolate shavings

The chocolate pudding cake was voted the winner by a large margin.  The polled audience was a good indicator for the competition, as I walked away with 2nd place out of 9 total desserts---hooray!  Because there are a number of dessert entries that folks consume, we do a "taste" format where everything is bite size.  I tried to find a recipe online for mini chocolate pudding cakes and did not have luck.  Instead, I ended up using a molten chocolate cake recipe (one that specifically called for chocolate bars instead of cocoa powder) and modified the bake time for mini muffin-sized portions.  And here they are...

Assembled Mini Chocolate Pudding Cakes

Mini Chocolate Pudding Cakes

Mini Chocolate Pudding Cakes with Whipped Cream and Raspberry
Adapted from Molten Chocolate Cake recipe from Tasty Kitchen

Makes 24 delicious teeny tiny cakes

Ingredients

Cake

• 4 pieces (squares) Semi-sweet Baking Chocolate
• ½ cups Butter
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 2 whole Eggs
• 2 whole Egg Yolks
• 6 Tablespoons Flour

Toppings

• 1 cup Real Whipping Cream
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• Fresh raspberries
• Chocolate shavings to taste (grate some of the chocolate bar)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray mini muffin cups generously with non-stick spray.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about 1 minute, until butter is melted. Whisk until chocolate is also melted.
3. Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour.
4. Divide between cups.  Bake 5 minutes until sides are firm and center is soft.
5. Combine sugar and heavy cream and whip until stiff. Top with whipped cream and raspberry.  Garnish with chocolate shavings.