Occasionally, a good recipe can be hampered by too many subs. In our case last night, a once amazing enchilada casserole was rendered “meh.” Part of it was too many substitutions/additions and another part was too “higher-end” ingredients and part of it was not enough cheeeeeese! (This is a surprisingly good recipe)

This recipe starts out so simply. It’s layers of enchilada sauce, tortillas, meat, and cheese. I swapped out the ground beef for shredded rotisserie chicken and black beans. These ingredients are good, but don’t pack quite the same punch as ground beef.

Instead of traditional loose-consistency enchilada sauce from the can (the “cheap” stuff), I purchased a “higher-end” chunkier variety available at a different store. I blended it with a little leftover ricotta I had (instead of sour cream). I really thought this would be so good, but sadly it was just ok.

The one substitutions I don’t think hindered this recipe was the use of gluten free spinach tortillas and the incorporation of fresh, chopped tomato. The texture was the same and didn’t throw an “off” taste. These I used in place of the traditional corn tortillas and would do so again. The tomato added a nice fresh note all around.

The final thing that made this dish just ho-hum, was the low amount of Mexican shredded cheese. I used a full 8oz bag, but really feel a 16oz would’ve served better. Not only would it bind the ingredients better, but it would’ve made for a much better crispy cheese “crust” at the top.

What are some dishes you’ve “played with” too much and rendered them a lesser one than the one originally presented?