More gooey foodie goodness!

Last time on the 14th Carnival of the Recipes, we brought you the Feared (yet tasty!) Coronary Killer, the celebrated Chili Dog Casserole!

The Chili Dog Casserole is loosely based on another of my favorite recipes, King Ranch Chicken. So, in the spirit of the holidays, please allow me to gift you with one of the easiest, yet tastiest dishes found in our neck of the woods.

Without further ado... Here's King Ranch Chicken! (El Pollo Rancho del Rey?) If you wanna get fancy and make your own cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup, and use fresh chilies, be my guest. It'll taste a bit better, but on an icy 30 degree evening, with a table of hungry teens, I doubt you'll have leftovers with this version.


1 large chicken, boiled with 2 c. mirepoix and herbs, cooled, deboned and diced
12-16 large flour tortillas
1 lg. white onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 can tomatoes with green chilies (Ro-Tel or similar)
4 c. grated Cheddar cheese

Boil chicken (until it's fully cooked) with 2 cups of a diced onion/carrot/celery mix, 2-3 garlic cloves, teaspoon of peppercorns and a bay leaf or two.
Remove & let cool, then cut up and debone. Keep chicken stock warming on stove.
In a large bowl, mix boned chicken, chopped onion, green chilies, chili power, soups, & Ro-Tel tomatoes.
Dip tortillas in hot chicken stock, and line buttered baking dish. Add layer of chicken/soup mixture. Add layer of cheese.
Continue layering tortillas, chicken/soup, cheese, ending witha layer of tortillas and cheese. Cover with foil and bake 375 degrees for one hour.

This is so good you'll catch yourself scraping the burned bits off the sides of the pan with a spoon and eating them while standing beside the sink! Better make it a double recipe!

Enjoy, y'all!