Southwest Chicken Casserole
This is based off an Emeril Lagassee recipe, with a few of my own revisions. While the ingredient list seems long, we usually have the majority of these things laying around. I’m going to include Emeril’s recipe for his Southwest seasoning, and even though we have all of the stuff to make it, I just buy his at the store.
If you want to see his ORIGINAL recipe, go to www.foodnetwork.com and search for ‘Cowboy Chicken Casserole.’ I leave off the whole butter/mushroom/flour/milk thing, and then put in much less cheese and cut the chicken ‘poaching’ time WAY down. There are a couple other small changes too. I leave out the salt as well. We use corn tortilla chips instead of flour-based ones. The corn tortillas give it a nice ‘tamale’ flavor when it’s cooked.
If you don’t like spicy food, you may want to use 8 oz of shredded cheddar and leave out the pepper jack, and hold off the chili powder. I would leave in the jalapenos for flavor, though. I would consider my ‘revised’ recipe to be of a ‘medium’ heat.
The goal of this meal was to make a big batch of something with a lot of flavor, so I could graze off of the leftovers for a few days when cooking for myself. It works great. It freezes well too, so we can have a quick, tasty meal by tossing the vacuum bag into some boiling water for 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 1 half bag corn tortilla chips
- 2 cups finely chopped onions
- 2 cups finely chopped bell peppers (we like the multi-colored sweet peppers and use about 6 or 7 of them)
- 2 jalapeno peppers, stem and seeds removed, finely chopped. We buy big ones, if you have small ones, you may want 3 or 4
- 4 ounces grated Pepper Jack
- 4 ounces grated Cheddar
- 1 tablespoon Emeril’s Southwest Seasoning, recipe follows, we buy ours at the store.
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained, if you like green chilies, use 2 cans.
Directions
Combine the chicken, chicken stock, wine, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, peppercorns, the oregano, and bay leaves in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the chicken to cool in the poaching liquid for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the cooking liquid and tear or cut into bite-size pieces. Reserve the chicken. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the tortilla chips in the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch glass casserole. Crush the chips with your hands so they form a thin layer on the bottom of the dish. Pour 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid over the tortilla chips and allow them to soak up the liquid. Scatter the chicken over the top of the tortilla layer. Spread the chopped onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos evenly over the chicken. Top with half of the grated cheeses. Sprinkle with the Southwest Seasoning, chili powder and ground cumin. Top with the tomatoes and green chiles. Cover with the remainder of the cheeses. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the casserole is heated through. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Tip: This casserole may be prepared in advance and frozen until ready to use. Simply allow it to thaw 1 day in the refrigerator and come to room temperature before baking.
Emeril’s Southwest Seasoning:
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 1/2 cup