Chilaquiles Recipe, Guest Post by Karen Boykin of La Cabeza Grande

I welcome Karen Boykin of  www.lacabezagrande.com as a guest writer this week!  You may remember her delicious sounding suggestion of making Chilaquiles when I asked readers to suggest ways to use leftover taco meat.  Her idea is a perfect use of pantry staples, that’s nutritious too!

Karen plans on devoting part of her blog to fresh food and cooking, as she’s in the process of a diet and lifestyle makeover.

Liven Up Those Leftovers!

Stretch your food budget too, with this Mexican-style recipe, suitable for breakfast, lunch or a hearty snack. They’re called chilaquiles and they’re made in a variety of ways with tortilla chips or corn tortillas – either as fried strips or layered whole, like lasagna. The toppings are up to the cook. The one thing they have in common is that they are an inexpensive use of leftovers, combined with staples that one would likely have readily available.

This is my version, La Cabeza Grande’s Chilaquiles:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

18-24 stale corn tortillas (you may use more or less depending on the size of your baking dish or the number or layers you make)
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (or queso fresco or cotija or plain old cheddar)
2 cups leftover cooked meat (chorizo, ground beef, shredded pork, roast chicken)
1 15oz can black beans
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 16oz jar chunky salsa (whatever is your heat preference or flavor)

Mix all ingredients together (except 1/2 cup of cheese) until well blended. It’ll seem a bit wet but that’s OK. The dry tortillas will absorb the liquid. Now it’s time to layer. I use a glass dish so there’s no need for cooking spray to prevent sticking. Place 6 tortillas in the bottom of your casserole dish in a single layer, evenly spooning 1/3 of the mixture atop this layer. Put 6 more tortillas atop the mixture. Spoon 1/3 of the mixture on that. You get the idea. The last layer should be the remaining bean-tomato mixture. Once that’s down, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top of that and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the cheese is beginning to lightly brown. Try serving it with sour cream, fresh salsa or guacamole and a green salad.

*Make it vegetarian by adding any of the following: corn, shredded raw, zucchini, chopped, green onions, leftover cooked vegetables, grated raw carrots, eggs or tofu.

I guarantee your guests will ask for the recipe and your family will beg for more. Enjoy!

Thank you Karen for sharing this recipe!  I’ll actually be using it tonight with leftoever pork chop meat! Please visit LaCabezaGrande.com to see more of Karen’s ideas!