Monday, February 9, 2009

Scrumptious Casserole for You

Tonite's dinner is a big family favorite. The recipe was originally from my sister-in-law, over at My Little Nest, many years ago. We've tweaked it and altered it for our growing family and our preferences. I have mentioned it before but never actually shared the recipe. So, for those of you who are feeling a recipe rut, give this one a try and let me know what you think. I'm pretty confident that you'll love it as much as we do!

Chicken Chalupa Casserole
makes 1 9x13 casserole dish
or a deep 1 1/2 - 2 quart casserole

Ingredients:
1/4 c. diced onion
1/2 c. sour cream
3/4 c. milk
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8-10 flour tortillas, quartered
4 chicken breasts, browned and chunked into bite sized pieces
2 c. shredded cheddar, Monterey, or Mexican cheese blend

Optional add-ins:
  • 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, seasoned or plain
  • 2 cans (4 oz.) diced chiles, drained
  • 1 can (6 oz.) olives, drained and chopped
  • 1 can (7 oz.) mushrooms, drained and chopped
Instructions:
  1. In large bowl, mix together the onions, sour cream, milk, and soup. If adding in the optional ingredients, do that now, too.
  2. Pour a small amount of this "sauce" into a lightly sprayed casserole dish. Just use enough to coat the pan and prevent sticking or burning.
  3. Place 1/3 of the tortillas onto the sauce. Follow with a layer of 1/3 of the chicken, 1/3 of the sauce and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat these layers two more times, and end the layers with cheese on the top.
  4. Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered. Top with additional cheese if it needs it. Bake another 15 minutes uncovered, till bubbly.
This casserole is excellent with guacamole and salsa on the side. I've made it so many times that I had to really think through things to see if this recipe is still how I do it. With a few minor changes, it's really still how I do things. (I delete the sour cream in the sauce and use it as garnish instead. And I use the seasoned diced tomatoes with chiles and onions in them to save me as step.) Throw together a salad and toss some chips into a bowl and you have a scrumptious Mexican-style feast for your family!

7 comments:

Amy said...

This sounds really good and I'm always looking for easy casserole recipes. (Not that I cook all that much.) I may have to try this one out on my friends though! :)

Elissa said...

Oooh, this sounds so good! It reminds me of a recipe I used to make when I was a nanny in Germany but I lost it. Thanks for sharing, and please keep it up.

Salzwedel Family said...

More yumminess! Thanks for sharing.

JMCS said...

Now that sounds good. I need to try to give it a whirl this week. Thanks! I have been in a dinner rut lately too...

Hugs,
Jonni

Doug and Terrye said...

I'm heading out to the grocery store, and I think I might pick up some of these ingredients for dinner ;)

Terrye in FL

My Little Nest said...

Between my recipes, and your creative 'tweaking' we oughtta write a cookbook (: This one is really good, and a favorite here.
I'm back to blogging now. I think the winter gave me the bloggy blues or something.

heidi @ ggip said...

You gave me this recipe a year ago. It was delicous! The only mistake I made was using too small of a cassarole dish! Then I had to put the overflow in another one.