King Ranch Chicken Casserole



King Ranch Chicken is one of my staples. You know, those recipes you can whip out without a thought, easily changeable and always a crowd pleaser. Yep, it’s one of those. I finally had to write down a recipe because my youngest brother has to have exact portions and when he would make this he would call me over and over and over and over to make sure he had the ingredients and portions down correctly.
So, drape a towel over your keyboard, put on your bib and prepare to be tantalized.

King Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:

* About 4 lbs of cooked chicken (breasts or whole de-boned), chopped or shredded, your choice.
* 1 large yellow onion, diced
* 1 ( 10.5 oz ) can, cream of mushroom soup
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1 C chicken broth
* minimum 1 (10 oz) can jalapeno slices (add more if you like it like that), chopped
* 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
* 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
* 2 medium tomatoes, 1 chopped, 1 sliced
* 1 lb shredded cheese, sharp cheddar or Mexican Blend… whatever floats your boat.
* 12 corn tortillas or a bag of corn tortilla chips
* Garlic, Salt and Pepper I have a shaker that contains 1/3 Garlic Salt, 1/3 Salt and 1/3 Pepper, I use it for everything.

How To:

In a large skillet over medium high heat drizzle about 1 Tbsp olive oil: add the onions, peppers, jalapenos, chipotle peppers and tomatoes. Cook until the onions become slightly translucent and your kitchen smells like heaven. Add the soup, broth and chicken. Bring to a slow simmer. Add Spices. Bring to a slow bubble, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be hot.

In a large baking dish place a layer of slightly broken tortilla chips or tortillas, top with a layer of the ‘mixture’. Cover with cheese. You can keep repeating these layers if it’s a smaller, deep dish or stop here if it’s a larger, shallow dish.
I like to top the cheese with sliced jalapenos and tomatoes.

Bake uncovered at 375 for about 30 minutes or until the cheese melts into bubbling golden goodness.

By the time you read this I will be A) on a plane B) hanging out at the DFW airport C) on a plane D) in Vegas E) IN VEGAS!!!

Be good to my blogsitters!
Smooches y’all!!
See ya Friday!
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Curry Chicken With Rice

Okey Dokey my darling Mouthwatering Monday Foodies.
Stop.
Take a deep breath.
This recipe is not scary. It’s really easy. Shut up! It is. I started making it in High School in Home Ec. and it’s one that my mom requests frequently. It is delicious, not terribly time consuming, and the flavors are savory and rich and it is truly tonguegasmically delightful. It will have your tastebuds doing dances and your salivary glands working overtime.

There is one ingredient on here that when you see the price you might just drop your jaw on your supermarket floor. Saffron, that’s right Saffron. The most expensive spice in the world. Yes, it is and Yes, it is worth it. You only use a pinch so you could leave it out, but I don’t recommend it.

Are your towels out protecting your keyboards? Do you have your drool bibs on? Y’all, do not be afraid of curry. It is your friend, it is yummy and savory and delightful and this dish will please damn near everyone.

Are you ready?

Here goes:

Curry Chicken with Rice

Ingredients

*1 C uncooked white rice
*1 small onion, chopped
*2 C water
*3 TBSP butter
*2 tsp inst. Chicken bouillon
* 1/4 tsp salt
*Dash ground saffron (if all you can find are threads, put them in a small bowl and grind them with the back of a spoon)
* 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese NOT the kind in a can people

Sauce:
*1 C sour cream
*5 to 6 tsp curry, divided (it’s a flavor thing y’all… have fun with it)
* 1/8 tsp ginger, if you can grate it fresh… DO IT! Your nostrils will thank you!
* 1/4 tsp cumin, again… this is an ‘ish’
* Dash ground saffron

How To Make Curry Chicken with Rice

  1. Saute’ onions in butter Nom Nom Nom. When they’re slightly caramelized (browned), add chicken bouillon 1 tsp curry, a dash of saffron, rice and water. Bring to a boil. DO NOT LIFT LID!!! Turn heat down to a simmer, cover and cook for 14 minutes. Do not remove cover!! After it’s done slowly add in the parmesan cheese, stir, cover, remove from heat and let steam for 5 to 10 minutes.
    Chicken: Cook chicken over medium heat in about 3 Tbsp of butter. Cook about 6 minutes on each side, or long enough to brown both sides. Sprinkle chicken with 1 tsp of curry and dash of salt. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the juices run clear and the chicken is no longer pink inside.
  2. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
  3. Make the sauce: Mix: 1 C sour cream, 3 tsp curry, 1/8 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cumin together. Pour into skillet on low heat. Stir, scraping up all the drippings and incorporating all the juices and fat from the chicken and butter. Again I must say, NOM NOM NOM!

To serve: Rice on bottom. Chicken on top of Rice and drizzle both with the sauce.

This is wonderful the first night and it retains it’s amazing flavor even when microwaved 2 days later as leftovers. The flavors are subtle, yet enticing. It’s mild enough for kids and complex enough for the adult palate. The amounts are easily changed to meet your particular palate.
Enjoy!

Remember, I love hearing about y’all’s experiences with my recipes! Please share!!

Happy Eating Y’all.

More recipes can be found here.

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When Daddy Puts Monkey Down

If Daddy puts Monkey down for a nap, he might forget to put pants on Monkey.
Monkey might get mad at Daddy because he didn’t want to take a nap.
Thanks to the crib tent Monkey can’t get out of bed.
But, his diaper can.
If Mom goes in to get Monkey up from his nap, she might have to run and grab her camera because this is what she sees.

And then Mommy has to strip the bed again and wash the sheet, the mattress protector, the comforter and Big Dog because Daddy forgot to put pants on Monkey.

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