I love tex-mex flavor; but don’t get to make any dishes with that flavoring enough at home.  I don’t normally have a jar of salsa or tortilla laying around, therefore it’s really easy to exclude it from the weekly menu because I tend to start my menu based on what I have at home, then add some variations to it. As a nod to Cinco de Mayo’s day, I thought that I’d whip up this dish as variation; although it is really fabulous all year long considering how easy it is to assemble!

This recipe originally makes two casseroles (using 9×13 dish), but since I was only going to make one casserole, I had to make some modifications to the size used so that I didn’t waste the ingredients. Instead of 9×13 casserole dish, I also split it up into two pans of  9×9 inch so I could bake one and save the other one for later. Happy eating!

Adapted from Taste of Home Holiday, Potlucks & Barbecues

Ingredients
18 (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas
2 cans (13 ounces each) of cubed chicken
2 cans (16 ounces each) of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar of salsa of your choice (24 ounce)
2 large green peppers, diced
1 can (16 ounce) of ripe olives
1 -1/2 cups of shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1 -1/2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions
In a greased 9×13-inch baking dish, arrange 9 of the tortillas. Top each with half of all of the ingredients (chicken, kidney bean, green pepper, ripe olives, sour cream, salsa, and both type of cheeses). Repeat layer.

Cover and bake at 350 degree for 25 minutes. Uncover, and bake another 10-15 min or longer until the cheese on top is melted. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 1 casserole (8-12 servings each)