First of all, let me tempt you with the image of the Monterey Chicken Casserole. It is one of those comfort foods that just doesn’t photograph well – but oh so delicious!
I put this in the oven on convection at 5 pm, knowing that we had to leave by 5:35 at the latest. Talk about a test!
While the casserole baked (really just warmed through) I made a salad and had the kids clear and set the table…
I checked it at 5:25 and it was hot all the way through, the cheese was melted and it smelled amazing. But would they like it?
Monterey Chicken Casserole got six thumbs up. All of the kids liked it… a lot. Comments like, “Wow Mom, it’s delicious!” permeated the fragrant air of the kitchen.
Step By Step Instructions
Practice your knife skills. Remember to keep your knife sharp and change cutting boards and knives between the chicken and the vegetables. The more uniform the sizes of the chopped foods the better it will cook.
Success!
Nothing crazy here – just straight-forward, straight up, easy food that everyone has heard of. I would not freeze this particular chicken casserole because I think it would get soggy and the texture would be off. It is easy enough to throw together at the last minute so no need for making ahead, unless you want to saute the chicken and vegetables ahead of time and save 10 minutes or so.
Make layers for the Monterey chicken casserole with the various ingredients starting with half of the chips as a base. End with the rest of the chips and cheese.
All in all this takes about 30 minutes start to finish, depending on your knife skills. You’ll put this one at the front of your recipe box, I am pretty sure!
Monterey Chicken Casserole
Print Add to CollectionIngredients
- 3 cups coarsely crumbled tortilla chips
- 4 boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- Salt and pepper
- 2 (15 ounce) cans cream-style whole kernel corn
- 1 1/2 cups chunky medium hot picante sauce
- 1/2 cup sliced pitted ripe olives
- 1 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
- 1 cup onion
- 1 large green pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Oil a 13 x 9 inch pan
- Cut the chicken into uniform sized chunks
- Chop the onion and green pepper
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper
- Saute the chicken in a hot pan with a little olive oil
- Add the onion and green pepper after about 5 minutes
- Saute until chicken is done and vegetables are tender
- Put half of the crumbled chips on the bottom of the casserole dish
- Add the chicken and vegetables
- Sprinkle with cilantro
- Pour the creamed corn over
- Sprinkle the half the cheese and the olives over the corn
- Spoon the picante sauce over
- Add another layer of crumbled chips and top with cheese.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly
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