Stacked Enchiladas - A Favorite For My Dad

Today my dad would have turned 72 years old.  Unfortunately, as many of you know, he lost his {almost year long} battle to esophageal cancer earlier this year.  He was a fighter though. In the past 8 years he went up against prostate cancer, melanoma, and did his best to beat this one - but couldn't win the battle.  He and I were very similar.  And as much as we butted heads, he is still one of my number one inspirations.

This was one of his all time favorite dishes that my mom would make for him.  These Stacked Enchiladas would be perfect for my dad if they were made with blue corn tortillas - but I couldn't {readily} find any locally.  I decided to purchase mini corn tortillas from Alejandro's Tortilla & Bakery out of Tucson, AZ that I found at my local Safeway.   They worked perfectly.  My dad was a sliced-avocado-kind-of-guy as a garnish on his Stacked Enchilada - I added more to mine, and made a couple of other suggestions in the recipe. He would have also enjoyed a margarita with his dinner over my choice of Corona Light.

I wish you a very Happy Birthday, Dad - I know you would have enjoyed these with me, but I'm also certain that you would have made a comment that the blue corn tortillas would have been better!  ;)

Stacked Enchiladas
Serves 4

12 blue corn tortillas (yellow or white corn work too!)
Small jar or can of green enchilada sauce or green chile sauce.  My mom uses 505 Green Chile Sauce
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (or shredded).  I had some Pollo Asado from Sprouts that we grilled and diced small
10 green onions, sliced thin (white and green parts)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (get the block and shred it - so much better than the bag!)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Shredded lettuce, diced/sliced avocados, thinly sliced radishes - for garnish (diced tomatoes, sliced  jalapeños would be good too)

In the end, you will have 3 tortillas, 2 layers of chicken, green onions, and slivered almonds, and 3 layers of cheese for each stack.  As you are building them, parse out the ingredients accordingly. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan, heat the green chile (or enchilada) sauce.  Working one at a time, dip each corn tortilla into the warmed sauce and flip, covering the tortilla.  Carefully transfer it to a serving platter. Do this four times so that you can create the four stacks consecutively.

Onto each of the first tortillas, add some of the diced/shredded chicken, green onions, slivered almonds, and shredded cheese.  Repeat this layer one more time with another tortilla, chicken, green onions, slivered almonds, and shredded cheese.  Add the final tortilla and top with cheese.  Spoon some of the remaining sauce over the top.

Place serving platter into the oven for 5-7 minutes until cheese has melted.  Using a spatula, transfer each stack to individual plates and garnish with lettuce, avocados, and radishes on the top of the stack.  Serve immediately.

Note: For more heat, feel free to add some of your favorite hot sauce to the enchilada sauce!