We spent the last weekend in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at two Irish Dance Feis.  We had been once before but only for one night.  This time we spent two nights and had a bit of time to explore.  We ended up at a German Beer Haus that was wonderful.  Long family style tables with great beer and awesome sausages.  The best part for me though was when the family tried the red cabbage and the German potato salad they all claimed mine was far better.  For once I had to agree.

But, we had a great time and have now started a new Feis tradition.  Each time we go to a Feis we will look up to see what cuisine the city is noted for and search it out.  We are going to Cleveland and Akron at the end of the month so I need to start researching to see what I can find there.  The kids both loved this and I am excited about it too!

But, back to real life….

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo and my son is all about tradition and holidays.  So, we have to have Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo.  It doesn’t matter that we didn’t get home until after 8:00 pm the night before or that I am volunteering at school and that I have a meeting he has to have Mexican food.  So, I came up with the idea that after volunteering at the book fair I would stop at the grocery story and pick up corn tortillas and green enchilada sauce and make chicken and cheese enchiladas from the chicken I boiled between meetings.

As you can tell from the title and the picture that is not Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas.  I was so tired by the time I left school at 4:45 I could not even think of walking through the grocery store.  I will just need to be creative with what I have at home.

Verdict:

This was really an amazing dish.  It was flavorful but not too spicy.  It was crunchy, cheesy and melt in your mouth good.  Everyone was happy with the dish and there was just enough left for one serving for lunch today.

I served this with a green salad on the side.

Ingredients:

• one full boneless chicken breast, precooked with spices, chopped into small pieces
• 1 bag of tortilla chips (I used Margaritaville Extra Thick chips and it really made a difference in the texture of the dish)
• 1 1/2 cups salsa (your preference on heat)
• 1/2 cup taco sauce (your preference on heat)
• 1 cup refried beans
• 8 oz. shredded Colby jack cheese (plus more if desired)
• 2 cups whipped cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can corn (drained)
• 1 TBSP chili powder (or to taste for heat)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp cumin

 Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with non-stick spray.
2. Crush 2 cups of tortilla chips into large pieces and cover the bottom of the casserole dish with the pieces.
3. Layer the chicken over the tortilla chips.
4. Drop tiny bits of refried beans over the chicken.  Spreading it out if it clumps.
5. In a small bowl mix chili powder, paprika, onion powder and cumin.  Sprinkle the spices over the entire casserole dish.
6. Pour the salsa over the casserole followed by the corn.
7. Mix the cream cheese and sour cream together until well mixed.  Spread the mixture over the casserole completely covering the dish.
8. Sprinkle one cup of shredded cheese over the cream cheese mixture.
9. Cover the casserole with remaining crushed tortilla chips.  Then cover with remaining cheese.
10. Bake for 35-40 minutes until cheese is turning brown and bubbly.
11. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.