Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Chicken Tortilla Casserole (Racetrack Casserole)

I actually tried a new recipe last week for dinner.    Yup I did.    Usually I try new recipes for our Tapas night or Boat Club or a potluck I get invited to.   I rarely try something new for our dinner but I did it last week.     And it was good.   There were some caveats, things I will do a little different.  Like, oh say, wearing my glasses when I'm reading the recipe off of my smart phone, not getting an idea caught in my head, and checking the recipe for accuracy, my accuracy that is, not the the original recipe's accuracy.   Wait a minute, did that make sense?   Oh well.



I've been a fan of the Homesick Texan for years now.  I read her recipes, drool over some of them and have even made quite a few of them.     And they are all good.   Spicy, yummy, full of flavour, good.

This is for the Chicken Tortilla Casserole   on the Homesick Texan site.   You can see how she made it.  

And now for my attempt.   For some reason I 'read' flour tortilla's not corn tortillas, so I used the flour ones instead and ummm, that was a mistake.
 




  
To assemble the casserole:


Now, for my critique, and this was my fault.   I used flour tortillas instead of corn, and that was a mistake.  The flour tortillas did not work at all.   However, both my DH and I loved the taste of the chicken and thought this would be a great way to have chicken type tacos using the chicken as a filling.   The flavour was wonderful, and both of us enjoyed it immensely.     I will be making this again, but not as a casserole unless I use corn tortillas.  



yield: 4-6 servingsprint recipe

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

prep time: 30 MINScook time: 30 MINStotal time: 60 mins
The first time I made this casserole, we loved the flavor even though I'd used flour instead of corn tortillas. The next I made it, we used it as a filling for some corn tacos' and it was good. Serve it in a taco or eat as a casserole, both ways are wonderful.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed and shredded or 3-4 cups cooked chicken (poaching instructions follow)
  • 1 yellow onion, diced finely
  • 1 tablespoon Olive oil
  • 1 Anaheim Pepper, seeded and chopped finely
  • 5 Jalapeno's, seeded and diced finely  (I used 3 Jalapeno's, mine were super spicy, and since I always have some in the freezer, this was easy)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1- 10 oz. can Rotel or similar tomatoes and green chiles
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnishing
  • 2 teaspoon chile powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup stock
  • 10 corn tortillas, quartered
  • 4 cups Colby Jack cheese, shredded
  • Salsa, Sour Cream and Guacamole for serving
Poaching liquid for chicken breasts or the whole chicken
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 chopped jalapeno's
  • 2-3 stalk of celery, cut in half
  • 2-3 carrots, peeled and chunked
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 6-10 whole peppercorns
  • 1 whole chicken but into parts, or breasts or breasts and thighs- 8 pieces total.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Saute the onions, Anaheim pepper, as well as the jalapeno's in about a tablespoon of olive oil, until they are softened and cooked, about 10 minutes or so.   Then add in the garlic and continue to cook for about another 30 seconds, you don't want the garlic to burn, just cook a little. Then add in the Rotel tomatoes and heat through for a minute or so.   At the last add in the chicken and the reserved 1/4 cup stock.   Cook for a couple of minutes until it's all heated together, adding in the chile powder, thyme and cumin.   Taste for seasoning.   You can add some salt at this point if you like.   I thought there was more than enough salt, so didn't add any.
Poaching the chicken
  1. Poach the chicken breasts with some celery, carrots,onion and  cilantro, and also added in a couple of jalapeno's and peppercorns.    I will say that the stock you get from this can also be used for Chicken Tortilla Soup, or add it to some enchilada sauce and stretch it out or use it wherever you need some spicy chicken stock.   Just make sure you label it correctly.  Ummm, I know whereof I speak.  ( It can make your chicken pot pie taste funny if you use the spicy stuff for the sauce.)
Created using The Recipes Generator





Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

2 comments:

  1. Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit mmy comment didn't appear.
    Grrrr... well I'm not writing all that over again. Anyway, jist wanted to say fantastic blog!

    cara mendaftar kuliah

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ι wanteⅾ tß‹ thÉ‘nk you fÖ…r tŇ»is gß‹od read!! I certainly enjoyed every littⅼе bit of Ń–t.
    I'vе got you saved aŃ• a favorite to check Đľut new stuff you post…

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from my readers, so please feel free to drop me a note, let me know if you like something I made, it makes my day.