Half bags of stale tortilla chips are the cupboard’s dust bunnies. With children being home for the summer and summertime parties there is a greater chance for you to have the dreaded half bag of stale tortilla chips. This recipe will use those chips, and the staler the better!
As children we were super-talented about not seeing an open bag of tortilla chips and would open another. I used to crush day-old chips and tell my mother we couldn’t scoop salsa with them anymore; yeah I was ‘that’ child. She was surrounded by multiple half bags of stale-crushed tortilla chips in the summer months.
Mom was so exited when she came home with this recipe. She had tried it at a pot-luck at work in the hospital. We had just had a pool party and there were quite a few bags of leftover chips. This recipe was an instant hit. It became one of the ones all of us called home to get when we went away for college. Seriously, how many stale bags of chips are left over after a college party?
She modified it quite a bit, and so did I! You can also mix the cheddar cheese with either sliced green onions or cilantro if you want more color on the top. Be wary of adding salt since the chips and the cheese are salted already. If you don’t want to use eggs you can use a can of refried beans as a binder.
Green Chili Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 7-oz. cans of fire-roasted mild green chilis
- 1 red onion – chopped coarsely
- 2 pounds ground beef (optional)
- 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
- 2 8-oz. can of tomato sauce
- 2 eggs – beaten – if you don't eat eggs use one 16 oz. can of vegetarian refried beans
- 2 2.25-oz cans of sliced olives (optional)
- 1 cup of half & half
- ½ of a (at least) day-old 11 oz. bag tortilla chips crushed a bit
- 16 oz. shredded Jack and cheddar cheese
- 8 oz. sour cream
- Topping:
- 8 oz. of shredded cheddar cheese
- Paprika
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat stove to 350 degrees.
- Step 2 In a large skillet, over medium heat, sauté chopped onions in the butter.
- Step 3 If you want to use meat, add it now to the onions and cook until meat is browning.
- Step 4 Stir in tomato sauce and chili, cook for five minutes.
- Step 5 Remove from heat, and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Step 6 Combine egg, half & half in a small bowl, and stir into frying pan.
- Step 7 Spoon about 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of 13” x 9” ungreased pan.
- Step 8 This is when you layer the chips, sauce and Jack and Cheddar cheese mix:
- Step 9 Spread half of the chips over meat sauce in 13”x 9” pan.
- Step 10 Add half of remaining sauce evenly over chips.
- Step 11 Sprinkle evenly with half of Jack and Cheddar cheese mix.
- Step 12 Repeat.
- Step 13 Cover with sour cream
- Step 14 Take remaining cheddar cheese and sprinkle over sour cream.
- Step 15 Dust the top with paprika.
- Step 16 Bake for 30 minutes.
