Ranchero Enchilada Casserole

I was reading the March issue of Esquire (sadly, my magazine diet consists mainly of what my husband reads) and they had an article on dishes that moms used to make with whatever they could find in the pantry, of which canned food is a ubiquitous feature.

I forget this time and time again, but there are so many permutations of casseroles that can be made with Campbell's soup. I'm so used to it being just that - soup, that I keep forgetting there's so much more you can do with it.

I know, canned food is hardly bursting in any kind of value, nutritional or otherwise, but now and then (when I do remember), I like making a casserole with Campbell's soup, simply because it's so incredibly easy to make.

We're much starved for Mexican food here, which my husband and I enjoy a lot. So for dinner today, I decided to do a Ranchero Enchilada Casserole, which sounds Mexican enough.

I omitted the green chiles because I didn't have any, so it didn't quite end up tasting Mexican (oops!). But it was pretty good anyhow. You can never quite go wrong with any kind of casserole made with canned soup.

This recipe was taken from the Campbell's Kitchen website:

Ingredients

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 can (about 4 ounces) chopped green chiles

1/4 cup rinsed, drained canned black beans

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons chopped red peppers

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

4 flour tortillas (8-inch) or 6 corn tortillas (6-inch), cut into strips

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Stir the soup, water, chili powder, garlic powder, chiles, beans, tomato paste, red pepper, chicken and tortillas in a large bowl. Spoon the chicken mixture into a baking dish, and top with the cheese. Cover the baking dish. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 25 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.