Chilaquiles

I made these 10th or 11th grade in Spanish Club. I just found the recipe and made it again! I love the homemade salsa verde! So don't just go and buy a green salsa. It is worth making!
It is basically tortilla strips with a green chicken sauce.
Also I usually just cook the chicken however I want. I usually just boil it quickly and don't follow the actual recipe because I don't have all the stuff for it. It still good.


Chicken:
1 Chicken Breast
2-2 1/2 C Water
1/4 Small Onion
1 Bay Leaf
Salt
4 Peppercorns

Salsa Verde:
1 lb. tomatillos (You can use canned tomatillos just 1 3/4 C canned and make sure to drain)
1 Jalapeno or other chili of choice
Water
1 Small onion, chopped
1 Garlic Clove
1/4 C Cilantro
1/2 tsp Salt

Tortillas: (Honestly I just usually bake them. Less of a mess)
Corn Tortillas
Salt
Cooking Spray

Toppings:
1/2 C Sour Cream, room temperature
4 oz Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Cilantro Sprigs

Chicken: Place the chicken in a medium saucepan. Add the water, onion, bay leaf, salt, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Cover and simmer until chicken is tender, about 45 minutes. Cool chicken, drain and reserve the broth. Shred chicken and set aside.

Salsa: Husk and wash the tomatillos. Remove the seeds from the jalapeno. Put tomatillos and jalapeno in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, drain. (Do not cook tomatillos if you used canned ones) Put tomatillos, jalapeno, onion, garlic, cilantro, and salt in a blender or food processor and puree. Pour into a saucepan. Add 2 C reserved chicken broth and 1/2 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil and lower and let simmer for about 30 minutes uncovered. (I don't usually do this because I don't usually have yummy broth).

Tortillas: Turn on oven to 400 degrees. Cut up the corn tortillas into strips. Put in a cookie sheet and spray the tortillas with cooking spray. Then sprinkle with salt. Put in oven and bake until crispy.

Assembly: Put tortillas strips in shallow baking dish. Add the shredded chicken. Pour the sauce over the chicken and tortillas. Place sour cream in a flat mound in center of mixture. Cover with shredded cheese. Place baking dish under broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly and food is hot. Garnish with cilantro sprigs. Serve immediately.

DO NOT mix the chicken and tortilla strips in advance or the tortilla strips will become soggy.

Unstuffed Pepper Bake

This is an alternative to when you are lazy and don't want to make the stuffed peppers. It is really good! I did not use instant rice, I just made regular rice and added the stuffing on top of that.

1 lb Ground Beef
1/3 C Onion
1 1/2 C Bell Peppers (I did different colors, but whatever was on sale)
2 Garlic Cloves or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
14.5 oz. Can Petite Diced Tomatoes, Drained
1 1/2 C Instant White or Brown Rice
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
8 oz Cheddar Cheese, divided
15 oz Can Tomato Sauce (Pretty sure I just used one small can not the whole 15 oz)

Preheat oven to 375. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, saute the beef, onions, bell peppers, and garlic for 10 minutes, or until the beef is browned. Drain off any fat. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, worcestershire sauce, and italian seasoning. Remove from heat, and stir in 1 cup cheese. Spread the mixture in a 9x13 inch pan. Top with tomato sauce and remaining cheese.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes until cooked through and the cheese is bubbly.