Tortilla Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups minced red bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups minced onion
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 5 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
• 12 corn tortillas
• 3 cups (12 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add bell pepper and next 3 ingredients; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Stir in cumin, and cook 1 minute. Stir in flour; cook 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and sour cream; simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken, and stir to blend.
2. Soften tortillas by layering them between damp paper towels and heating in microwave, in several batches, at HIGH for 30 seconds.
3. Arrange 4 tortillas in a lightly greased 3-qt. baking dish. Top with one-third of chicken mixture (about 2 cups), sprinkle with 1 cup cheese, and cover with 4 more tortillas. Repeat layers with another one-third of chicken mixture, 1 cup cheese, 4 tortillas, and ending with remaining chicken and 1 cup cheese. Cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate up to 2 days.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35 to 45 minutes or until bubbling and browned.
5. Note: You can also freeze this casserole. Follow the make-ahead directions above but freeze after preparing. When ready to cook it, bake foil-covered frozen casserole at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.