Chicken Taco Casserole

Chicken Taco casserole is the second of the recipes my sister-in-law made me when we were visiting.  I somehow deleted the pics, so decided to make it again when I returned home This time I mixed it all up, split it between two 9x9 casseroles and, after baking, froze one. I have company coming to stay for 12 days, so it will make for an easy meal.

The flavor was good, but pretty usual for this type of Mexican inspired dish. I will be amping it up. I liked its versatility. You could offer servings on plates with lots of toppings on the side for each guest to add - sour cream, guacamole or avocado slices, a variety of salsas, pickled jalapenos, and sliced ripe olives. You could offer a pile of large tortilla chips. Guests would add the toppings, and then scoop bite size portions onto a chip to eat. Another idea I had was to place a serving amount in a heated tortillas. The guests could add the toppings and then roll it up like a burrito. 

I am not sure why they put a layer of crushed tortilla chips on top and then covered it with cheese. The chips would still get soft. Next time I might mix the chips into the chicken mixture. They also only put a little cheese in the mixture, and the rest on top.  I baked it until the cheese was melted and had a few brown flecks. It looked great, but the cheese layer very firm to cut through. If you were serving it with large tortilla chips to scoop, it would be impossible to include the cheese. So I would either bake just until the cheese is melted but still soft, or mix most of the cheese in. 

Enjoy! And if you give it a try, let me know how you liked it, changed it, and served it. 

= = = =

Chicken Taco Casserole

Ingredients - 

2 T oil
1 med onion, diced
1 bell pepper
2 c cooked chicken
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz. Can corn, drained and rinsed
19 or can diced tomatoes with green chillies, drain saving juice
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt1-1/4 C sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
2 C shredded Jack cheese, divided
1 C crushed tortilla chips
Garnish optional 1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions - 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or spray a 9x13 baking dish

In large skillet, heatproof oil over medium heat. Sauté onion and bell pepper until softened. Add chicken, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes with chillies, taco seasoning, and garlic salt. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 a cup of reserved tomato juice.

Remove pan from heat and stop if in sour cream or yogurt, and 1/2 cup cheese. Mix well. Spread mixture evenly I prepared 9 x 13 prepared casserole. Sprinkle the crushed tortilla chips on top, then layer on the remaining 1-1/2 C cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Garnish with cilantro or sliced green onion if you like. Serve with topping of you like such as a variety of salsas, sour cream, sliced black olives and more sour cream or Greek yogurt.