King Ranch Chicken

Ingredients: 

3 large bone in chicken breasts

36 white corn tortillas

1/2 large onion diced

1 bell pepper diced

1/2 carton mushrooms washed and sliced thin

2 tbls olive oil + more to coat casserole dish

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can mild Rotel tomatoes

1/2 tbl chili powder

Salt & Pepper

3 cups shredded Colby jack cheese

1/2 can of olives sliced

Directions:

Simmer chicken breasts in water until cooked through about 1 hour.  While chicken is cooking... In bowl combine soups and tomatoes with chili powder and stir well, set aside. 

Clean and dice vegetables. Add olive oil to skillet and sauté on medium heat stirring frequently until onion and bell pepper are soft and mushrooms are starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. 

When chicken is cooked, remove skin and debone. Coarsely chop chicken. Add chicken to a large bowl and add the sautéed vegetables and salt and pepper to the chicken and stir well. Then add less than half of the soup mixture to the chicken. Less is more, you only need enough sauce to moisten the chicken. 

Rub a little olive oil over casserole dish. Cut 36 round tortillas into squares and set the round edges aside (I fry these and make my own tortilla chips). 

Layer 12 tortilla squares  in the bottom of the casserole dish overlapping only slightly. Spread 1/2 of the chicken over the tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat layer with 12 tortilla squares, remaining 1/2 of chicken and 1/2 cup cheese.  For final layer use the last 12 tortilla squares and about half of the remaining soup mixture (you will have some left over) just enough to cover the tortillas.  You don't want your casserole to be too soupy.  Then sprinkle with remaining 2 cups of cheese and sprinkle olives on top. 

Bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes. The cheese should be starting to brown on the edges.  I serve it with my homemade tortilla strips, sour cream and a side of yellow corn. 

This seems like a lot but you do all of your prep work while the chicken is cooking and the assembly does not take too long. I fry my chips while it is baking. This can easily be done with a rotisserie chicken. If you prefer spicier, you can use a medium or hot Rotel.