Swapping Recipes and Building Community at The Open Door

Eddie and Roxann moved to the Twin Cities from New Mexico in 1998. They love the variety and freshness of the produce at The Open Door Pantry in nearby Eagan. “We’re both disabled and on social security, so the cost effectiveness of this is a huge help. The main thing is that we’re now eating a regular meal. Food increases everything for us, exponentially.” 

“We went for a long time being like, “Well, why should we get up in the morning?” We didn’t have a lot. But now it’s like ‘wait a minute—we’ve got a bunch of food. What are we going to eat?” 

The access to fresh produce at The Open Door Pantry has opened up a lot of opportunities for Eddie and Roxann to eat consistently, as well as experiment with new recipes with some updates to some of their comfort food classics. "We’ve tried our hand at making refried beans—we just got a pressure cooker, so we make the pinto beans with the bacon, or we use the ham hocks," says Eddie. 

Eddie and Roxann have really embraced cooking since becoming regulars at The Open Door.

"With all the produce [at The Open Door], we’ve learned to embrace it—we get together and chop stuff up whereas before we would just reheat things." 

Eddie and Roxann talk about the importance of having meals to look forward to, as well as getting their day started off on the right foot. They often enjoy eggs and breakfast potatoes in the morning, which inspires them to get out the door to go for a walk out in nature. 

When asked what dish Eddie makes when he’s crafting something special, he gives an answer true to his New Mexico roots—“Green chile chicken enchilada casserole,” he says. “Every time I’ve made it, whoever tastes it is like ‘that’s so you.’” 

We've included a recipe for green chile chicken enchilada casserole we hope would make Eddie proud. 

The Open Door has a beautiful selection of multiple types of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole adapted from All The Healthy Things

Ingredients
1/2 tablespoon cooking oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 zucchini, small diced
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 cups shredded chicken breast
1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
1/4 cup lime juice
32 oz green enchilada sauce, divided
6 oz shredded pepper jack cheese, divided
4 oz green chiles
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
salt and pepper, to taste
12 tortillas
4 oz monterrey cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9×13 baking dish with oil.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add the oil, diced onion, diced zucchini, and minced garlic. Sauté the garlic, onion, and zucchini in avocado oil until tender. Set aside.

Make the Filling: Add the sautéed veggies, shredded chicken, Greek yogurt, lime juice, 1 cup of enchilada sauce, 4 oz shredded pepper jack cheese, green chiles, ground cumin, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper to a mixing bowl. Stir until everything is well combined.

Assemble the Casserole: Coat the bottom of the 9×13 baking dish with 1/3 cup of enchilada sauce. Then place a layer of 4 tortillas in the dish (they will overlap some). Next, add approximately a heaping cup of the chicken filling and spread out with a spatula or the back of spoon. Then pour on 1/3 cup of enchilada sauce. Repeat the process until all of the tortillas are used, you will have 3 layers ending with chicken filling on top.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the casserole and then sprinkle with an even layer of the remaining 2 oz of shredded pepper jack and 4 oz Monterrey cheese over the casserole.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melty, bubbly, and beginning to brown.