tortilla stack casserole

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we made it to seattle!! proof is below, taken from gas works park:

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we spent the past week packing up our old home and cleaning it until it was sparkling clean. and we spent a lot of time with our family and friends in santa cruz, saying good-byes to the wonderful people there.

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after that was done, we packed our cars with our house plants, suitcases, and the last odds and ends from our apartment, and drove both of our cars up to seattle.

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along the way we picked up my dad, and made lots of pit stops to taste the local food and see the scenery. unfortunately, we were both in such a haze that we didn’t take many pictures to share, except for a few in roseburg, oregon, and this one in port kalama, washington.

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and then, less than 24 hours after we arrived in seattle, the movers arrived!

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and i would be lying to you if i said that i’ve even thought about cooking once since i last posted. because all i’ve been thinking about is unpacking and making our new place feel like home.

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so instead, i’m posting a recipe we cooked in our old kitchen many, many, many times. it’s a classic dish in the powell family, one of the few that my sister and i both called our favorite for many years, as usually we had drastically different tastes.

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i was finally able to procure this recipe from my parents last year, and i’m planning on making it as soon as my kitchen here in seattle is up and functional, cause i’m already missing my california fam and friends. but i’m pretty darn excited about our new place and living in seattle, so i can’t complain. i’ll just go back to unpacking boxes so i can post some pics of the inside of our home….

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one year ago: corn chowder
two years ago: blueberry tartlets

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tortilla stack casserole

yields approx 6 servings
borrowed from sunset magazine

  • 10 corn tortillas
  • 2T vegetable oil
  • 15oz tomato sauce (i like muir glen)
  • 1T chili powder
  • 8oz shredded cheddar cheese
  • black olives, optional
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  1. preheat your oven to 350º
  2. grease a 9″ pie plate
  3. slice the corn tortillas i half
  4. heat 1T of oil in a frying pan
  5. stir the tomato sauce and chili powder in another frying (or saute) pan
  6. once the oil is hot, place as many tortillas as will comfortably fit into the pan in one layer (mine fits 3-4), and allow to fry 1-2 minutes per side
  7. once both sides have been fried, use tongs to drop the tortillas into the tomato sauce pan and put more tortillas into the pan with oil, adding more oil as needed
  8. use the tongs to flip the tortillas in the tomato sauce pan so both sides are covered, and place into the pie pan
  9. once you have five half tortillas in the pie pan (four around the sides and one in the middle), cover with 1/4 of the cheese (and olives, if using)
  10. continue the assembly line until you’ve used all 20 half tortilla slices and have four layers, then pour the extra tomato sauce over the casserole before sprinkling the last 1/4 of the cheese on top
  11. place into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes
  12. serve with refried beans and fresh corn and bell peppers sauteed in olive oil, if desired

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