A few weeks ago HELEN made this casserole and posted it on her site. She said it was from Cooking Light and I told her I would love to make it and would google the recipe. She e-mailed me back and said it was already in a cook book I own! I had posted a recipe from the 2000 Cooking Light Book and that’s where the recipe was.
The good thing about this recipe, is I kind of used leftovers from my fridge. I had some frozen chicken breasts in my freezer that needed to be used, and I had cheese ends left over that I just shredded to make a mixed blend of cheese. So all in all, this was a pretty cost friendly dish to make.
The verdict? It did turn out really good, I followed the recipe to a T, HOWEVER, it was a little time consuming and I used a lot of pots and pans to make this. I think I would go with an easier version next time and when you read the recipe, you’ll understand why!
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and 1 tablespoon salsa)
Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 1/4 pounds skinned, boned chicken breast
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (Biz, you can omit this!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup beer
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 (2 1/4-ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
2 (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, drained
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten or 6 tablespoons egg substitute
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut in half
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup salsa
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium heat until hot. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet; let cool. Shred chicken with 2 forks; set aside.
Recoat skillet with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add shredded chicken, beer, red pepper, and tomatoes; cook 10 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates. Remove from heat. Reserve 1 tablespoon green onions and 1 tablespoon olives for garnish. Stir remaining green onions, remaining olives, and chiles into chicken mixture; set aside.
Combine flour, salt, cumin, and coriander in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Place over medium heat; cook 7 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg whites, stirring constantly with whisk. Set aside.
Place cheeses in a bowl; toss well. Set aside.
Spread 1/2 cup white sauce in bottom of a 2 1/2-quart round casserole or soufflé dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 tortilla halves over sauce; top with 2 cups chicken mixture, 1/2 cup white sauce, and 1/2 cup cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice, ending with sauce. Set remaining 1/2 cup cheese mixture aside.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese mixture, reserved green onions, and reserved olives; bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream and salsa.
NOTE: You can assemble the casserole ahead of time; cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight, then bake at 350º for 1 hours or until bubbly. Or freeze casserole, thaw in refrigerator 24 hours, then bake for 1 hour or until thoroughly heated.
Nutritional Information
Calories:
309 Fat: 9.7g Protein: 28.7g Carbohydrate: 26.6g Fiber: 2.6g
Cholesterol: 63mg Iron: 2.1mg Sodium: 753mg
Calcium: 324mg
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Also, you have until the end of the day to submit your recipe for BSI this week. The ingredient is Pork and I will be posting all the recipes and a winner tomorrow.
Also, if you are interested in hosting next, just let me know!!! This is the 96th week of BSI, so let’s keep it going.
OK, my first time entering the BSI . But, I can’t pass up the chance to show off my Smoked Beans recipe.. So, if you need more than a link address, let me know. But… Here you go…
http://yearonthegrill.blogspot.com/2010/09/its-big-day-in-cul-de-sac-neighborhood.html
This looks like my kind of casserole!
This casserole looks so yummy, love the cheese on top!
Biz must eat the onion.s
Eat the onions Biz.
No, Biz does not have to eat the onions! Although, because I love my daughter, right now in my fridge is a yellow onion, a white onion and scallions!
Do you have someone to host yet, Jenn? Shoot me an email…
This does look quite tasty! Yummy casseroles are always fun because they last awhile 🙂
Jenn, I did omit the first step – I actually cut my chicken breasts into strips then cooked them in the sauce. Once they were done, I shredded them using two forks right in the sacue. Made it a lot less time consuming!
Lots of steps is one of the issues I have with Cooking Light recipes. They tend to be pretty involved. BUT the end result is usually so good that it makes all those steps worth it.