Andrea's King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Should you ever find yourself in Texas (a great place to land!) and happen to be in need of comfort food, surely someone will pop by with a King Ranch casserole. There are plenty o’ variations of this recipe, and most are quite rich and, well, casserole-y, but I lightened up Andrea’s version of the classic southern dish with a few variations (see in-recipe notes), and it turned out so well it might just become a new go-to for me.

ANDREA’S KING RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 pounds of chicken, shredded or cubed
12 corn tortillas (*I ended up using about 8)
1-10.75 ounce can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (*look for an organic version at your grocery store)
1-10.75 ounce can of condensed cream of chicken soup (*look for an organic version at your grocery store)
1 large onion, chopped
1-10 ounce can diced tomatoes and green chiles (*look for an organic version at your grocery store)
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups of grated cheddar cheese (*I ended up using a little more than 1 cup, plus a bit more for the top of the casserole)
1 green bell pepper, chopped *optional(*I didn’t have on-hand so I omitted)
1 red bell pepper, chopped *optional (*do it!)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine broth, both soups, onion, peppers, and seasonings. In a 9x13x2 baking dish, spread a few spoonfuls of the sauce mixture. Layer half the tortillas on the bottom of the dish. Layer half the chicken on top. Add one-third cheese, followed by another layer of chicken. Spread the remaining sauce over the chicken, another third of the cheese, and then the remaining tortillas. Top with final third of cheese. Bake for 50 minutes. Then, turn the oven to broil and cook for an additional 2 minutes until the cheese on top is golden.