My Favorite King Ranch Chicken Recipes

ORIGINAL KING RANCH CHICKEN

Steps:

• 1. Boil chicken, remove meat from skin and bones. (save broth).
• 2. Sometimes I will use 6-8 chicken breasts instead of whole chicken when I'm in a hurry.
• 3. Saute onions and green pepper.
• 4. Mix with soups, tomatoes, cubed chicken, and chicken broth.
• 5. Line bottom of Pyrex casserole with six corn tortillas.
• 6. Add 1/2 of chicken/soup mixture; spread over tortillas. Sprinkle grated cheese over mixture.
• 7. Then make another layer of six tortillas, chicken/soup mixture, and cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 250-300 F 1 hour until cheese is bubbly.
• 8. Please note that you can make this recipe much lower in fat by using the fat free soups and fat free chicken broth. It turns out just as tasty.
• 9. I've also substituted Cheddar Cheese, as well as Lite Velveeta in place of the Monterey Jack cheese and it was all good.
• 10. The original recipe uses corn tortillas, although some people prefer the flour. I believe the corn gives it a better flavor myself. For variety, you can also omit the tortillas and use tortilla chips, or even noodles/pasta, in their place. At one time or another, I've tried every variation - they are all good, although I am partial to the corn tortillas.
• 11. Adding a can of black beans or corn, also takes it to another level and adding a few slicked black olives and a dollop of sour cream before serving makes a nice presentation.

MY FAVORITE KING RANCH CHICKEN

Steps:

• Steam or boil the chicken breasts until cooked through (I use my steamer and find it makes the chicken perfectly moist and tender).
• When cool, dice into bite-size pieces.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix the soups, onion, Ro-tel tomatoes and Cheez Whiz until blended.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
• Layer the bottom of a greased 9x12 casserole dish with crushed chips.
• Next, layer half the chicken pieces.
• Top with half the sauce.
• Sprinkle with half the cheddar cheese.
• Repeat the layers, but top with the Cheddar and Mozzarella.
• Sprinkle paprika over the top to garnish.
• Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

KING RANCH CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Make the soup/tomato mixture, which is very bizarre and might scare you off. But please: Be brave and stick with me through this challenging time. You won't be sorry! In a large bowl, combine the soups and diced tomatoes and chiles. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Then--this is the time to be strong--stir it all together. Trust me!
• Line the bottom of the baking dish with half of the torn tortillas. Layer on half the chicken. Add half the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno. Sprinkle on half the cheese and pour on half the wacky soup mixture. Then repeat the layers, beginning with the rest of the tortillas, and ending with the rest of the you-know-what.
• Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake until bubbling, another 15 minutes.
• Look at that! Serve it with a salad and a dang hearty appetite.
• To make ahead and freeze: Fold foil over the unbaked casserole and freeze until solid. Then, lift the foil-topped casserole out of the pan, wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and freeze until needed. When ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap, put the foiled-topped casserole back into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and thaw. Bake at 350 degrees F following the baking instructions above.

BEST KING RANCH EVER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix chicken, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, diced tomatoes with green chiles and juice, chicken broth, onion, and canned green chiles together in a bowl, stirring until thoroughly combined.
• Place 1/3 of the tortilla strips in a layer into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish; top with 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Repeat layers twice more; sprinkle Monterey Jack cheese on top of the casserole.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is golden brown and casserole is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. If casserole is still slightly runny, let stand 5 to 10 minutes until firm.

KING RANCH CHICKEN

Steps:

• Soak tortillas in chicken stock just until wilted.
• Cut chicken into bite size pieces.
• Alternate the following layers into a 9x13 pan.
• tortillas, chicken, onion and cheese.
• Sprinkle chili powder and garlic salt over top.
• Spread undiluted soups over top of chicken, tortilla layers.
• Spread Ro-Tel tomatoes over top of soups.
• Bake at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes.

THE BEST KING RANCH CHICKEN EVER

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375.
• Dice chicken into small bite size cubes and cook in pan with oil, ground cumin, and chili powder.
• Pour a light layer of chicken broth at bottom of casserole dish to line.
• In a medium size bowl, add chicken, rotel, cream of mushroom, and chicken broth and mix.
• Line bottom of pan with corn tortillas
• Add chicken and soup mixture over the tortillas.
• Add a light layer of diced onion over soup mixture.
• Top with layered mixture between both kinds of cheeses.
• Repeat last 3 directions until casserole dish is filled and topped with cheese (usually only 2 layers).
• Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minute.

KING RANCH CHICKEN

Steps:

• Tear the corn tortillas into bite sized pieces.
• Set aside.
• In a large saucepan, cook pepper and onion in margarine until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add soups, Ro-Tel tomatoes (with green chilies) and chicken, stirring until well blended.
• Spray a 9x13" pan with Pam.
• Alternately layer tortillas, soup mixture and cheese, repeating for 3 layers.
• Bake 40 minutes at 325 or until hot and bubbling.

KING RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Saute onion and bell peppers in the hot oil until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Add both cans of condensed soup, diced tomatoes with chile peppers, chicken broth, sour cream, cumin, ancho chile powder, oregano, and chipotle chile powder; mix until sauce is well-combined.
• Spread a few tablespoons of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Layer with 1/2 of the chicken, 1/2 of the sauce, 1/2 of the Cheddar cheese, and 1/2 of the tortillas.
• Spread the remaining chicken over the tortillas. Spread all but 1/2 cup of the remaining sauce over the chicken, then top with another 1/3 of the Cheddar, and the remaining tortillas. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup over top, and sprinkle with the remaining Cheddar.
• Bake casserole in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 40 minutes.
• Turn on the broiler and broil until the top is golden, 2 to 3 more minutes.