Jan 11, 2016

King Ranch Chicken

We had a busy weekend of parties (for us and the children), and a fun dinner out Saturday night with friends.  I stayed up past my curfew, and had a glorious nap after church to make up for my lost sleep.

After naps for all, Deeds had a little party and DH had a playdate.  And I had forgotten that my dad was coming for dinner-  we all like to feed him when Mama is out of town, being suspicious of his ability to eat something other than junk food for dinner.

Luckily, I had a King Ranch Chicken Casserole in my freezer.  I pulled together a quick tomato salad,  and we were set.  I love having a stocked freezer.  Anytime I make something that freezes well (soups and stews, casseroles, quiches, meatloaf, etc.) I make double so I have meals on hand.

I know it's not clean eating, but sometimes nothing hits the spot on a Sunday night like a creamy chicken casserole.


From Southern Living-

Ingredients
            1 large onion, chopped
            1 large green bell pepper, chopped
            2 tablespoons vegetable oil
            2 cups chopped cooked chicken
            1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
            1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
            1 (10-ounce) can diced tomato and green chiles
            1 teaspoon chili powder
            1/4 teaspoon salt
            1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
            1/4 teaspoon pepper
            12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
            2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Sauté onion and bell pepper in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken and next 7 ingredients; remove from heat.
Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces; layer one-third of tortilla pieces in bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Top with one-third of chicken mixture and 2/3 cup cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes.  If it's frozen, bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

To counteract the amount of canned and processed food in the casserole, I put together a bright and fresh salad that' perfect for the winter months.

Southwestern Tomato Salad:
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup white corn, (I used frozen and just thawed it)
1/4 cup vinaigrette dressing (either homemade, or I used my favorite store-bought- Garlic Expressions)

Mix it all together- I like to smash the avocado a bit, so you get some with every bite :)

Delicious! Thank goodness for cherry tomatoes.  They help get me through until tomato season is here once again.



6 comments:

  1. This sound so good, thanks for sharing this delicious looking recipe.

    Simon

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  2. I have to try this casserole. What is it about freezing cold winter weather that makes me want to eat anything with cheese. So glad you are still blogging. You are one of my favorites!

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  3. Garlic Expressions is soooo good - created at a restaurant where I grew up in Ohio! I love a stocked freezer as well!

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  4. We love this dish too! 94% of our freezer meals came from you. Matt calls the elvis enchiladas Sammas enchiladas!

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  5. We love King Ranch! I haven't made it in forever -- thinking I'm going to need to make it soon!

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  6. That salad looks amazing!!

    I need to get better about preparing freezer meals. This fall and winter, I've made soup much more frequently and freezing the leftovers for dinner another night has been SO nice!

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