Entering the World of the Casserole

I am 30 and nothing shows my age more than my recent desire to cook instead of eat out all the time. I realized I was wasting money on food and that I could eat out only one to three meals a week and still save money by cooking at home. My investment into a Crockpot has more than paid for itself in the money I have saved by making as many meals as possible and packing my lunch for work. This weekend I dared to go where I had not gone before in the Crockpot. I made a casserole.

I have made dishes that are close to casseroles before this weekend. I made a meatloaf, but I do not count that as a casserole (although it does share some of the same characteristics as a casserole so you might). I made a lasagna, but I do not consider that a casserole because it is a lasagna. Again, you can disagree. This weekend I wanted to make something that was Mexican food like in my Crockpot but I could not find a recipe that sounded good, so I made one up.

All good casseroles, I concluded as I enjoyed my creation, have to be born of a similar process. I wanted to make enchiladas in the Crockpot, but I could not find a recipe that sounded right. I found some inspiration by reading different recipes and comments to get some tips. I wrote down a list of ingredients in quantities that sounded right before heading to the store. Once in the store as I picked up the two cans of enchilada sauce and headed back down the aisle, my eye caught the chili. I remembered mom putting chili over enchiladas. I pondered how good it might be to mix a can of the enchilada sauce with the chili and use that instead of two cans to add more meat. You see, I am going through an anemic stage right now, and chili has more iron in it than enchilada sauce. I even checked the can to make sure. I threw in some black beans too for the same reason. I then went back to the chili section to trade out cans of chili because I decided that the brand in hand would be too chunky and I would need a runny chili for the casserole so that it would be more like enchilada sauce. I never buy the runny chili. I was being bold. Then it came time to buy the meat. I decided on fajita chicken. The recipe called for ground beef. I could not leave out onion because I do not consider a meal a meal unless there is onion in it. By the time I left the store, I had 2-1/2 of the original ingredients in the recipe - corn tortillas, cheese, and one of the two cans of enchilada sauce called for. The recipe was officially inspiration. Or guidance on how to cook a casserole in a Crockpot.

As I threw the casserole together and left it alone while it cooked, I was nervous and excited about how it would turn out. It was either going to be a keeper or a dud. The chili mixed with enchilada sauce did not look promising as the casserole was being assembled. In fact, the whole thing looked pretty unappetizing in the Crockpot before it cooked and after it was done. I encouraged myself by reminding myself that I cannot think of a single casserole that I like that is appetizing when you put it in and pull it out of the oven.

It came time to take the first bite. The first bite was not good. I burned my tongue. My tongue was in so much pain I do not remember the rest of the first bite, including how it tasted. I waited a while longer before the second bite. Finally, I could tell that this was going to be a keeper, not a dud. In fact, the more I ate, the better it tasted. By the second helping, I was loving it. It reminded me of enchiladas, but without having to prepare the tortillas, assemble the little rolls, remember to put the tortillas with the seem side down, and pouring the sauce on top. The sauce had soaked into the chicken and the tortillas infusing them with deliciousness. It was incredible. I thought that the world should know about this recipe. Of course, it looked very unappetizing (still) but the taste made up for it.

I have determined that this must be how all casseroles are formed. Or at least how they are formed in the information age when cooks can compare recipes. I started with several recipes, but decided on one that sounded best. Then as I bought the ingredients, I altered the recipe based on what sounded good. At that point you can only hope that it is edible because you are in charted (or unblogged about) territory. Once you determine that the recipe is a keeper (and secretly thank yourself for writing down the ingredients as soon as you threw them together into a pot), you want to share it with others. I am going to share it, but more for your inspiration and guidance!

Crockpot Enchilada Casserole

1-1/2 lbs of precooked meat. I used frozen chicken fajita meat, thawed.
1 can of enchilada sauce
1 can of chili
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion
3 cups Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese
12 corn tortillas

Cook the meat if it is not cooked already. This recipe has a relatively short cooking time for meat, so raw meat probably will not get done. Cut the tortillas into six wedges per tortilla. Use a Crockpot liner (that part is not inspiration - trust me, it is worth it!), but spray the liner with cooking spray. Layer the ingredients starting with one stack of the tortilla wedges, meat, sauce, beans, onions, cheese. Repeat three to four more times. After you have used up the meat, sauce, beans and onions, top it off with a final layer of tortilla wedges and cheese only. Cook in the Crockpot on low for 4-6 hours. My Crockpot has an automatic warmer, so I set the timer for 5 hours and then let it warm for a few more. It was perfect for consumption after 3 hours on the warmer setting. At two hours, the sauce was a little runny still, but that could have been because it was so hot. Plus, at two hours on warm I burned my tongue with the first bite which may have had something to do with my thinking it was perfect for the second helping and hour later.