Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Quickest {to Make} Dinner Ever

First, let me check on a couple things.  Does your family like tortilla chips?  Yes, good.  Do you have salsa, corn, bell peppers and cooked chicken or turkey in your pantry or freezer (or can you get your hands on some soon)?  Awesome.  If you answered yes to both, you will love this recipe.  First, it's lightening-fast to put together (5 minutes, tops) and, second, it's delicious.

I had some tortilla chips left over from a gathering we went to (I had taken this Spinach and Artichoke Dip, page 73).  Because I had them on hand, Mavis's blog post for Chicken Tortilla Casserole really caught my eye. It looked so simple and since I really wasn't thrilled about thinking up something for dinner, it fast became that night's supper plan.  It was a hit with four out of the five members of our family-which is considered a major win around here these days.

While we were enjoying it, I told Jamey that it was the quickest dinner I ever made.  After I explained what I did he said that even he could make that some night for dinner.  Ye. Haw.

 unbaked

Chicken Tortilla Casserole (adapted ever-so-slightly from here)
My changes: I increased the amount of broken tortilla chips, used chopped, cooked turkey in place of the chicken and left out the bell peppers because there are peppers in my salsa and I didn't want to push it with the kids.
Serves 6

3 cups broken tortilla chips
2 cups chicken (or turkey), cooked and shredded
1 (15 oz) can (or 1 quart frozen and thawed) corn
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chopped bell pepper (optional)
3/4 cup salsa
2 cups shredded cheese (Monterrey Jack, Cheddar or a combination)
sour cream

Grease a 9 x 9 or 10 x 10 inch baking dish and lay half the broken chips in the bottom.  Combine all other ingredients (except the cheese and sour cream!) in a bowl.  Layer half the corn mixture on top of the chips and then half of the shredded cheese on top of the corn mixture.  Repeat layers of broken chips, corn mixture and shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and serve with sour cream if you have some on hand.

baked

Thank you, Mavis!! Pin It

9 comments:

  1. thank you! I needed a fresh idea for supper tonight

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  2. This sounds wonderful! I can't wait to try it!!!

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  3. What a delicious way to use what I have in my pantry! Thank you!

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  4. Made this tonight after reading your email this morning. Stopped at the grocery on the way home and picked up a broasted chicken. I will use the leftover chicken for chicken and noodles tomorrow. My two guys LOVED this. They thought I was making an appetizer to take to work tomorrow. You would think I never cook for them.

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  5. Oh, how I love (and appreciate!) dishes like this! Sadly, I have no tortilla chips in the house (or anything I can think of to substitute), but am putting them on my co-op shopping list. Also have a couple hundred pounds (well, maybe not quite) of dried black beans, but no canned. (How am I doing so far?) Have you tried cooking your own beans? I know not nearly so convenient, but the flavor is soooo much better than canned.

    Anyway, didn't mean to go on so much. I really do appreciate having this recipe. I love having casserole recipes for "other" meats than beef!

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    1. I don't always have tortilla chips on hand, but I usually have frozen tortillas. I was thinking I could toast them and use them. I don't buy canned beans, so I will be using home-cooked beans in this recipe - I'll just eyeball it. This seems like a very flexible recipe.

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  6. Well i always seem to have plenty of broken chips in the cupboard. I could leave out the chicken and add onions and it would be like baked nachos.

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  7. DEFINITELY making this! Thank you! I love to cook, but I LOVE quick recipes, too. Pesto from the freezer and pasta is my fastest meal, but this will go into the memory bank too, I'm sure.

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  8. I know that would go over well in our home. Thanks for sharing! :)

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Just a friendly reminder, if you know me personally please try to refrain from using my name. There are those who may try to locate me, break into my pantry and steal my pickled beets. Thanks:-).

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