This is a recipe we love at my house.  It’s great for cold and gloomy days. As with most recipes, I’ve changed it up a little to make it my own and to also make it a little healthier.

Ingredients:

Whole 4 pound chicken, cooked, deboned and chopped or 4 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped.  (Typically, what I do is use a slightly larger chicken and bake it for dinner one night.  Then I debone the rest and save it for this or another chicken casserole.  This way I get two meals out of the chicken and save money.)

11/2 – 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup; or mix 1 can Cream of Chicken and 1 can Cream of Mushroom

1 can Rotel tomatoes (the generic diced tomatoes and peppers works just as well)

1/2 a medium onion

1/2 a large bell pepper

1 – 2 cups frozen broccoli

2 pats of butter (or equivalent of olive oil if you prefer)

Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder

Corn tortillas (if you are short on these, I’ve used tortilla chips or chalupa shells as an alternative)

1 – 2 cups (amount to your liking) Cheeses; I like a variety of cheddar, jack and maybe mozzarella cheeses (grated)

In a food processor or small electric chopper, add broccoli, bell pepper and onion and run until chopped very finely. Add the butter to a large frying pan or non-stick pan.  Pour in the chopped/pureed broccoli, bell pepper and onion.  Add salt, pepper and chili powder to taste and sautee on low heat until the veggies are soft and have taken in the flavors of the seasons.  Next add in your chicken and sautee a little longer to expose the chicken to the flavors of your mixture as well.

Add in you rotel.  Some people prefer to drain it.  I include the liquid and cut back on the cream soups.  Continue to sautee.  If your children aren’t crazy about seeing diced pieces of tomato in their food, puree this up in your chopper before adding to the mixture.  Finally, add in your soups.  You want this creamy but not too liquidy so use your personal judgement.

Spray a 9 x 11 casserole dish with not stick spray.  Place a layer of corn tortillas across the bottom to cover the bottom of the dish.  Some people warm these in oil first.  This is not necessary as the casserole will cook them nice and tender.  Cutting out that process also saves some fat and calories.

Divide your mixture to make two layers.  Cover the tortillas with one half of your chicken mixture.  Layer generously with cheeses (but reserve half for your top layer).  Place a second layer of corn tortillas on top of the cheeses.  Cover with your remaining chicken mixture.  Top this layer with cheeses.

Bake at 300 – 350 until bubbly (usually about 30 – 45 minutes if baked immediately).  This is also an excellent casserole to freeze and break out on those busy days for a quick, home-cooked meal.

If your family has an extreme dislike of broccoli you can replace this with pureed carrots or yellow squash.  Though, the broccoli absorb the flavors while being sauteed and thus hides the idea of the vegetable.  The idea is to slip in those extra vitamins and nutrients.  You can play around with other vegetables in this casserole.  Also, using low fat cheeses cuts back on calories and low sodium cream soups are another tip to making this delicious casserole a little healthier.