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King Ranch Chicken Casserole
by August-19-2015
A from-scratch version - no condensed soup!
Ingredients
  • For the Chicken:
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 3-4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tbs. garlic powder
  • 2 tbs. adobe seasoning
  • 1 tsp. chipotle powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • Salt and Pepper
  • For the Sauce:
  • 6 tbs. butter
  • 4-6 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, diced small (optional)
  • 6 tbs. flour
  • 2 cups chicken cooking broth (from the crock pot)
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. adobe seasoning
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. (or more) chipotle powder
  • Salt and Pepper
  • For the Casserole:
  • 10 small corn tortillas
  • 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese or jack mix
  • 1 cup chicken cooking broth (from the crock pot)
  • 1 small can Rotel
  • Diced jalapenos, optional
  • Fresh cilantro or parsley, optional
Instructions
In the bowl of your crock pot, cover the chicken with the chicken broth and add the seasoning. Stir to coat the chicken and cook on high for 4-6 hours, until the chicken comes apart easily with a fork. Once the chicken comes apart easily, roughly break apart the chicken breasts into smaller pieces to cook for 15 more minutes on high (I feel like the smaller the pieces the moister the chicken).Remove the chicken from the crock pot with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Turn off the crock pot, allow the remaining broth to cool and set aside.Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. If you are using the mushrooms, sautee the mushrooms in the melted butter for 3-5 minutes, until cooked. If omitting the mushrooms, just skip ahead. Add the flour to the butter and whisk until blended. Do not allow this to burn.Add the milk and 2 cups of broth (from the crock pot) to the sauce and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the seasoning and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside.Using two forks, shred the chicken as fine as possible. Pour the sauce over the chicken and mix together. Set aside.Butter a rectangular baking dish. Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees. Assemble all the components of the casserole within easy reach (tortillas, chicken mix, remaining chicken broth, shredded cheese, drained Rotel and optional toppings).Spread half of the chicken mix in the baking dish, top with shredded cheese, some Rotel and jalapenos. Cover with a layer of tortillas. I tear mine in half to make sure they cover every inch, overlapping is fine. Drizzle some of the chicken broth over the tortillas, making sure to get the edges.Top with the remaining chicken mixture and another layer of tortillas. Top the tortillas with cheese, Rotel and other optional toppings. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until bubbly, about another 15 or 20 minutes.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: Serves 6