Mexican Layered Casserole

I invited a friend over for dinner last night, and because of the chicken coop project, we are completely tapped out broke!  So, I had to be creative with what I had on hand...turned out delicious!  I got the recipe from cooks.com and tweaked it.  I used cooked shredded chicken that I was going to use in tortilla soup, and some corn tortillas I had in the freezer.  I had to buy two cans of beans and I was all set for this casserole.  Our friend ate three helpings!  It was a very easy and quick meal that was company-worthy!  Would also be a great recipe for using up turkey leftovers.

12 corn tortillas (I prefer the white corn tortillas)
2 lbs. cooked shredded chicken or 2 lbs. browned hamburger
1 teaspoon cumin (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon chili powder (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 cans "ranch style" beans (I used La Costena whole pinto beans, they are seasoned with Mexican spices)
1 lb grated cheese
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can italian style or mexican style diced stewed tomatoes

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a skillet, warm up the cooked shredded chicken and stir in the cumin, chili powder, and onion powder.  (Or, brown the hamburger with the spices). 

Spray a large 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.  Layer 6 uncooked corn tortillas on the bottom of the dish.  Layer the cooked chicken or hamburger on top of the tortillas.  Open the beans and do not drain, pour the entire contents of the two cans on top of the meat layer.  Layer the cheese on top of the beans.  Place the other 6 uncooked corn tortillas in a layer on top of the cheese.  In a seperate bowl, mix the soup with the entire can of tomatoes with the juice (do not drain the tomatoes).  Pour this sauce over the tortillas.

Bake uncovered for 90 minutes at 300.  If the sauce starts looking a bit dry, cover with a piece of tin foil after about an hour of baking.  Also, this is a VERY full pan so I anticipated some bubble-over so I lined the oven with some foil and caught the drips.  Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream, chopped onion, cilantro, and pico de gallo.