I know ALL of my Texas friends have heard of King Ranch and the famous King Ranch Casserole. Most of my Nebraska friends aren't as familiar so I decided to make this for one of our preschool/teacher birthday lunches. I used the precooked grilled chicken breasts strips from Costco so this recipe was a snap. I LOVE it! It is easy and well-loved. There wasn't a bite left today at preschool!
One other thing, I am not always a huge fan of cooking with canned soup. I did use the Cream of Chicken soup the recipe called for but instead of using Cream of Mushroom Soup - I decided to liven up the recipe and use a half-pint of cream. What a great change to this recipe! Like I said - not a bite left!
P.S. I remembered mid way through our buffet line - that I needed a picture! Sorry!!
King Ranch Casserole
2 cups diced chicken, seasoned with a little chili powder, cumin and garlic powder
1/2 stick butter
1/2 - 1 onion, diced
1/2 - 1 bell pepper, diced
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 half pint of whipping cream
12 corn tortillas
2-3 cups cheddar cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle cooked chicken with seasonings and heat in skillet. In another large skillet, melt butter and saute onion and bell pepper about five minutes or until tender. (or you can heat the cooked chicken and seasoned veggies all in one skillet )Add Rotel, soup, cream and chicken. Tear four tortillas in bite size pieces and layer in the bottom of your pan. Top with 1/3 of the chicken mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat twice. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly!
**I made mine the night before and it was still yummy!
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