Sunday, June 14, 2009

Chicken chili casserole

This past weekend, my roommates and I threw a Mexican themed "Adios Analog" party, in honor of TV switching from analog to digital. As part of the theme, I made a chicken chili casserole that people raved over. A few have asked me for the recipe, so here it is:

Ingredients:
-2 lbs ground chicken
-1-2 large can crushed tomatoes
-can of diced tomatoes
-2 tbsp chopped cilantro
-Half of a red onion, diced
-Green peppers/yellow peppers/orange peppers/red peppers, diced (I used half of each one)
-Cumin
-Chili powder
-Roasted corn, frozen (Trader Joe's has a great one)
-Black beans, canned (optional)
-Jalapenos, canned or fresh, chopped (optional)
-Minced garlic, two cloves
-Adobo
-Tortillas (flour or corn -- try wheat for a healthy alternative)
-Shredded cheese, Mexican four-cheese or fancy blend (mozzarella/cheddar blend)

Start by heating up some oil at the bottom of a large pot on medium high. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic, and sweat out for a minute or two, until they begin to soften (if using fresh jalapenos, you would add at this time). Add a hefty pinch of black pepper.

Add the chicken and let brown. Mix frequently to keep the chicken smooth and prevent chunkage. After most pink has disappeared, add the can of crushed tomatoes. Depending on the size of the can, you may want to add another, but a 32 ounce can should be fine. Add the can of diced tomatoes too. (If you choose to add beans, this is when you should do it, or if you'd like to add some heat, throw in some chopped jalapenos from a jar)

Add half a palmful of cumin, and half a palmful of chili powder. Add a quarter of a palm full of adobo. Stir in, then add the corn (defrosted, though it's fine if it's still a little bit frozen) and cilantro. Stir and let cook for about 15 mins.

Turn the heat down to low, and allow to simmer for another half an hour or so. Taste test every now and then and add adobo or salt/pepper as needed.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a large baking pan. Once chili is cooked to your liking, ladle a layer of chili into the pan. Add a layer of cheese over the chili, then a layer of tortillas, then a layer of chili, and repeat. Do this until the pan is full, and make sure the top layer is a thick layer of cheese. Dust the top with black pepper.

Put the casserole in the oven for about 20 mins, or until the cheese fully melts. Take it out and let sit for another 10-15 mins, then dig in! Serve with sour cream and guac for a fully happy experience.

4 comments:

  1. One of the greatest foods of all time!

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  2. nice party, great food! we had a wonderful time there (despite the half the time in which i was mildly passed out...)!

    what's adobo?
    :)

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  3. adobo is a seasoning, you can get it from goya! it's a blend of garlic/oregano/salt/pepper.

    i used the one with pepper for the chili: http://www.goya.com/english/products/product.html?prodSubCatID=7&prodCatID=4

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  4. oooh this looks delicious :)

    ReplyDelete