Layered Enchilada Casserole

I've had this recipe "starred" in my Google Reader for a long time now and I decided today was the day....I had ground turkey in the freezer and all the ingredients on hand, since we just went to the grocery store yesterday. This was easy, and had a LOT of flavor...I was worried that the turkey and sauce wouldn't fully absorb the spices and flavors, but I was wrong! It had a lot of flavor and I'll definitely be making it again!

I did make a little adjustment, as I didn't fully read the recipe and only had 12 corn tortillas instead of 16....I slightly staggered 4 tortillas into 3 layers, so it worked well regardless! There were some parts of the bottom that weren't fully covered by a tortilla, but no one would have been any wiser!

Check out Ally's blog here at Culinary Infatuation, it's great!!

Layered Enchilada Casserole
Recipe courtesy of Ally at Culinary Infatuation

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 1 can refried beans (I used fat-free)
  
• 1 Tbs. canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper (I omitted)
  
• 2 garlic cloves minced (I, of course, used 5)
  
• 1 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley
• 3 8 oz. cans no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 2 Tbs. Chili powder divided
• 2 Tbs. Cumin divided
• 2 tsp. smoked Paprika divided (the original recipe says divided, however, I didn't see where to use the 2 parts, so I put it all in the sauce mixture)
  
• 2 tsp. dried Oregano
• Pinch of sugar
• a few shakes of cayenne powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 18 corn tortillas
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used 2% Mexican blend)

Directions:

Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat and add ground turkey. Add 1 Tbs. of chili powder, 1 Tbs. cumin, a tsp. of oregano and salt and pepper. Cook until evenly browned. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Wipe out skillet with paper towels and add oil. Put skillet over medium heat and saute onions and pepper. When onion becomes translucent add garlic and parsley. Cook another minute. Add tomato sauce and the rest of the spices and sugar. Let simmer about 5 minutes.

Transfer ground turkey to a mixing bowl and add refried beans and about 1/4-1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce. Mix well.

In a 9x13 casserole dish layer 6 tortillas on the bottom, cover with sauce, then meat-bean mixture, then cheese.

Repeat the process ending with tortillas, sauce and more cheese. Cover and cook for 25 minutes, uncovering the last 10 minutes.