King Ranch Chicken

Ok. This is seriously one of the easiest, most delicious, coziest recipes for the fall weather I know of. So I thought I'd pass it on along. A version of it was featured in Southern Living this past month, but I'll give you the version my grandma passed down (along with a lot of other lovely Southern ladies, I'm sure).

Grocery List:

• 2-3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 1 large onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 10oz can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 10oz can cream of chicken soup
• 1 16oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel Tomatoes, for example)
• corn tortillas
• 1 2 cup package sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• salt
• pepper
• few drops of tabasco

 Ok. So here's how you make it!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 Glass baking dish.

In a large saucepan, poach the chicken breasts. I simply cover the chicken breasts with about 1/2 inch of water and bring the water to a boil. I let it gently boil until the chicken is done cooking, about ten minutes. Poaching allows the meat to remain really tender for pulling, as you will do later on in the recipe. For more detailed information on poaching chicken breasts, check out this website.

While the chicken is cooking...

1. Dice the onion and the bell pepper, and place in a large bowl. 
2. Add to the bowl the following of the ingredients

• cream of chicken soup
• cream of mushroom soup
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• tomatoes
• tabasco
• salt and pepper to taste

Then...mix all the ingredients together well.

When the chicken is done cooking, set it on a cutting board and pull it apart to shred it for the casserole. Add the pulled chicken to the bowl with the other ingredients.

Assembling!

1. Line the bottom of the glass baking dish with a layer of corn tortillas. It is fine if they overlap. 
2. On top of the tortillas, pour about one-third of the chicken mixture. Spread it evenly. 
3. Sprinkle one-third of the cheese on top of the chicken. Now, repeat steps 1-3. 
4. For the top layer, do a last layer of the chicken then sprinkle the cheese on the top. (This leaves a deliciously tasty cheesy layer on top for your first bite). 

Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until it is bubbly through all the layers. Let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!!!!