Gluten-Free Vegetarian Tortilla Casserole

I had a craving for this dish one night and I knew exactly what I wanted. But I couldn't find a recipe anywhere, so I just made it up! It's relatively inexpensive, and it's great served with a side of vegetarian refried beans.

What You Will Need
3 medium green bell peppers
3-4 medium poblano peppers
Corn tortillas
Tortilla chips
Leftover Beans N' Rice
(or 1 can of black beans)
Mexican cheese mix to cover the top of the casserole

For the sauce:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (you can use milk instead, but it curdles very easily and may require corn starch or four to thicken)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 pound monterey jack cheese
Cumin (1 tsp)
Paprika (1 tsp)
Chili Powder (1 tsp)
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Black Pepper
Salt


Chop the bell peppers and poblano peppers into short strips and add them into a sautee pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Salt and Pepper them and cook them over medium heat until they are browned and tender.

While the peppers are cooking, start the sour cream sauce. In a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, mix together the heavy cream and sour cream. Add in the seasonings and heat slowly, but do not bring it to a boil. Once the cream is warm, add in the monterey jack cheese (either shredded or a few chunks at a time) and stir together until the cheese is fully melted.

Once your peppers are browned and tender, you're ready to start layering your casserole!

 

 In your casserole dish, place a small amount of sour cream sauce (about 1/4 of a cup) just to keep the tortillas from sticking. Tear your corn tortillas into quarters and layer them in the bottom of the casserole dish. Then, place a layer of peppers (about half the pan) on top of the tortillas, spread in some of the Beans N' Rice sauce (or black beans), and lightly cover it with sour cream sauce. Continue making layers until you're out of peppers.

Once you're done layering the casserole, cover the top with a handful of crushed tortilla chips, a bit of sour cream sauce, and a mexican cheese blend.

Bake it at 350 until the cheese on top is melted, about 20 minutes.

Then, serve it with refried beans and eat it!