King Ranch Chicken Casserole

I am conflicted about the end of summer.  I love summertime, but I am just plain tired of being hot.  I am also tired of salad. And cantaloupe. I don’t even want another daiquiri any time soon.

On the other hand, it’s not even a month into the school year and the tyranny of the school schedule is harshing my bliss.  It’s not that I don’t like fall, I do like some fall things: college football, new school supplies, and fall clothes, mainly.  (I have realized I look drastically better in cool-weather clothes than summer clothes. That’s some harsh reality right there.)  I also like the food: steaming bowls of soup with homemade bread, hearty cheesy lasagnas, beef dishes with rich mushroom sauces–did I mention that I dreamed about chicken and dressing last night?

But it’s this whole school/fall schedule is irking me right now.  Up at 5:30 am, make some breakfast, pack a school-appropriate lunch. Then work, sweat, work, sweat, work.  The baby comes back home at 5:30 pm, starving. A real meal must be available in a timely fashion so that we can go to bed early enough to get back up at 5:30 tomorrow.  This goes on day after dang day. I actually cope well with this routine as long as the air is crisp and I feel frisky. But the reality is that lately, when dinner time rolls around the heat index is still about 105°, and I just want ice water soup with cold grapes in it about 9 pm.  Or better yet, I could let the baby* serve herself ice water soup with cold grapes. It’s too hot to be fall. Even the cicadas sound tired.

But here’s what we’re having tonight:  King Ranch Chicken. It’s an oldie but a goodie, and I’m trying to meet the Universe halfway.  King Ranch Chicken is delicious, and I have some cooked chicken to use up. And some stale chips.  And some homemade salsa. I’ve fiddled with the original recipe to suit my pantry today, and you can, too.  There is plenty of wiggle room here, so go wild and adjust to suit your family’s tastes. This can be made in the morning and cooked later if you like.  The leftovers freeze beautifully, and you can count on leftovers. It’s sort of summery, sort of fall-ish, and a bit unorthodox.

I regard King Ranch Chicken fondly as a mini-rebellion in a 9” x 13” Pyrex dish.  Named after the venerable King Ranch (bigger than Rhode Island!) in Texas, the King Ranch insists they had nothing to do with it.  A ballyhooed staple at Texas church dinners and funerals, it’s really just a typical 1950’s ladies’ magazine casserole, though with chicken and a South Texas attitude.  I love the idea of demure little church ladies arguing over how much Texas Pete to add. Older recipes call for three (three!) cans of condensed soup: often cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and cream of celery.  How big must a casserole be to carry the sheer saltiness of three cans of condensed soup?  Bigger than Rhode Island.  No way am I doing that. I personally dislike using the corn tortillas that are invariably called for, and substitute corn chip crumbs with impunity.  So sue me.

Given the mood I’m in, King Ranch Chicken sounds like just the ticket.

*DISCLAIMER:  The baby is 22 and in professional allied health school.  She’s fine.

King Ranch Casserole

The recipe below isn’t the classic recipe.  I have lightened it up a bit by substituting sour cream and chicken stock for some of the condensed soup.  I also have traded torn corn tortillas for crushed corn chips. The corn tortillas available locally tend to get tough in this recipe and I can’t cut them without a steak knife and substantial elbow grease.  I have found crushed corn chips to be a better tasting substitute than flour tortillas. Your mileage may vary.

• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 1 green poblano pepper, diced  (use a green bell pepper plus some jalapeno, if you prefer)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• 1 can tomatoes and chilies, drained
• 1 tiny can (4 oz.) green chilies, drained
• 2 t. chili powder
• 1 t. dried oregano
• ½ t. smoked paprika
• 2-3 t. adobo sauce
• ½ cup sour cream
• Salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste
• 1 8 oz. block sharp cheddar, grated
• 4 cups corn chips, crushed
• 3 cups cooked chicken
• Salsa, sour cream, jalapenos, cilantro, hot sauce, etc, . . . for garnish

Spray a 9” x 13” pan with cooking spray, set aside.  Preheat the oven to 375°. To make the sauce, heat olive oil in a large sauté pan.   Cook onions and peppers until quite soft. 

Add the chicken soup, stock, tomatoes, green chilies and all of the herbs and spices, plus adobo sauce.  Stir until combined. Simmer for 5 minutes or so. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Taste for seasoning.

Layer the casserole like this:

• ½ cup of sauce
• ½ of the chicken
• ⅓ of the remaining sauce
• ⅓ of the cheese
• ½ of the crushed chips
• The rest of the chicken
• All but ½ cup of the remaining sauce
• Half the remaining cheese
• The rest of the crushed chips
• The rest of the sauce
• The rest of the cheese

Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly around the edges and the cheese is melted.