tomatoes — A Southern Fairytale

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.