King Ranch Chicken Casserole

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

King Ranch Chicken Casserole is pure comfort food! Loads of cheesy chicken, tortilla strips, and deliciousness blend together in this awesome meal.

I remember exactly the very first time I tried this beloved dish. No, I didn’t grow up eating it like so many have. I was an adult and unfortunately, it was during a very dark time in my life. I was in Florida staying at my parents’ house while my dad was in hospice. Many of their friends from church graciously were delivering meals for our family. At the time I was still nursing my youngest daughter and I needed to stay hydrated and eat regularly no matter if I wanted to or not. One evening a “Mexican style casserole” was on the menu for that night and so I took a helping. Okay, well that resulted in another helping and I’m fairly sure I helped myself to the leftovers for lunch the next day too.

Of course, my mind was in a million places during that time, but I was certainly grateful for the outpouring of love and support that showed up and helped feed us mentally and physically. After things had settled I asked my stepmom to get the recipe for this casserole from her friend. Sometime later I received it in an email and sure enough it was this “semi-famous” King Ranch Chicken Casserole.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken breast, cooked & shredded
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup green pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies (undrained)
• 1 t cumin
• 2 cups mexican blend cheese
• 15-20 corn tortillas

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Spray 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In small pan melt butter, saute green pepper and onion until softened but not mushy.

In mixing bowl combine: shredded chicken, cooked green pepper and onion, soups, Rotel tomatoes and cumin. Stir to combine.

Cut tortillas into fourths, size of tortillas will depend on how many you'll need.

I make two layers consisting of: tortilla pieces, chicken mixture, and shredded cheese. Spreading layers evenly.

Bake covered approximately 35-40 minutes until cooked through. Broil 2-3 minutes if you desire the cheese to brown on top.

Serve with sour cream if desired.

Notes

As mentioned above I used Cream of Celery soup in place of Cream of Chicken and Mushroom. You can add additional spices (cayenne powder, chili powder, Tabasco) if you prefer spicier dishes. Number of tortillas needed will depend on size, I use roughly

Recipe Source:whoneedsacape.com