Chicken Verde Enchilada Lasagna

My husband loves Mexican cuisine. Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas; he loves them all. His most requested dish is enchiladas. For special occasions I will take the time to roll up the enchiladas individually before baking them, but for a normal weeknight dinner I like making an enchilada lasagna. It is so much easier, not as time consuming, and still tastes just as great!

-Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
Taco seasoning packet
Olive Oil
10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
7 oz can diced green chilis, drained
19 oz can green enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup shredded cheese (for topping)
12 corn tortillas (I like using the King Size ones)
Juice of 1 lime
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Tortilla strips (optional)

-Directions
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Slice chicken breasts through the middle so they are not as thick. You should have 4 thin filets now. Sprinkle taco seasoning on and cook in olive oil until cooked through. Be careful not to overcook though. Save the rest of the taco seasoning.

While the chicken is cooking, mix 2 tbsp of the taco seasoning mix, cream of chicken soup, green chilis, 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, 2 cups cheese, lime juice, and half of the chopped cilantro. When your chicken is done cooking and has rested for 5 minutes, chop it up into small bite sized pieces and add to your mixture.

Layering the enchilada lasagna:
Add 1/4 cup enchilada sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Layer 3 tortillas on the bottom (I put 2 on one side of the pan, and split the 3rd one in half to fill in the holes on the other side of the pan). Scoop 2 cups of the filling mixture and spread it out on the tortillas. Repeat the tortillas and filling again. Add another layer of tortillas. Add the remaining filling mixture and spread. Add the last 3 tortillas. Pour the enchilada sauce over the top tortillas. Add 1 cup of cheese and remaining cilantro.

Cook at 350° for 30-45 minutes until bubbly and heated through. Top it with tortilla strips for a little crunch.

Serve with your favorite enchilada sides. My favorites are cilantro lime rice and refried beans.

Check back in next month for my Beef Enchilada Lasagna with Red Sauce!

Happy Cooking!
-Sarah Liz

Ladybug Hat - Free Crochet Pattern

I am so excited that the end of summer is in sight! I love the fall. One of my favorite things about the fall weather is that I can make adorable hats for my children to wear. A favorite hat has to be the ladybug hat. When I was searching for patterns I came across a few that I liked well enough, but they were not exactly what I was looking for. So with a combination of patterns, I made up my own.

Materials:

I hook (5.5mm) (I am a tight crocheter, so you might want to adjust your hook size based on your tension)

Caron Simply Soft Yarn (Black, Harvest Red)

Scissors

Needle

Patterns:

First of all, I love Repeat Crafter Me. She has so many cute designs, and her crochet beanie pattern is a staple for my own designs. She did a version of a ladybug hat here. I used her basic beanie pattern with some color changes at the top. Here is what I did.

- Using black, do the first 4 rows of the hat pattern in the size of your choice.

- Switch to red starting at row 5.

- Continue with earflaps in red.

- Sc around entire brim of hat (including earflaps) in black.

- Starting at the bottom of the black rows at the crown of the hat, surface slip st down the middle on both sides of the hat.

- Antennae

1. Magic circle, sc 8, do not join

2. Sc8

3. Sc8

4. 4sc decrease

5. 4sc 

Continue with round 5 until antennae measures 2.5 inches

- Dots

Magic circle, 12 dc around, join. Cut leaving long tail for sewing on.

- Ties

I use 5 strands of black, and 4 strands of red, approximately 1 yard long. Loop through the bottom of the earflap, and braid the ties to the desired length.

I would love to see your ladybug hats! Tag me on instagram @craftsbysarahliz so I can see your work!

*Permissions*

- The main hat and earflap patterns are Sarah Zimmerman's from Repeat Crafter Me. Please give her due credit.
- You are free to sell what you make from my parts of the pattern. I would appreciate links back to my blog to credit me as the designer.
- You may not use my photos
- You may not sell this pattern or claim it as your own

© Sarah Gross - Crafts by Sarah Liz