Light King Ranch Chicken

After the sun went down last night I decided to whip up a casserole for dinner tonight. Since its been so crazy hot the idea that I'd have to use the oven to bake this delightful dish really put a downer on my plans until I decided to go ahead and make it the night before. This way I kept cool in the kitchen while making this and tonight all we have to do is pop it in the microwave!

I think my husband could love me for this dish and this dish alone. I seriously have to put it under lock and key to keep him from eating it all in the first 30 minutes of its life. I did wake up this morning to find that the casserole, mind you for tonight's dinner, well only half of it survived the night. (Husband's been working the night shift at home) Trust me when I say this meal won't last long, so you'd better grab your fork and protect your plate when this baby hits the table!

Menu: Light King Ranch Chicken, "kick it up a notch" salad, and big glass of lemonade.

Light King Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
Vegetable cooking spray
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts
1 (10-ounce) can fat-free cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (10-ounce) can fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomato and green chiles
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 (8-ounce) block reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Sauté onion and bell pepper in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender.

2. Stir in chicken and next 6 ingredients; remove from heat.

3. Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces; layer one-third tortilla pieces in bottom of a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with one-third chicken mixture and one-third cheese. Repeat layers twice.

4. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Allow plenty of time to cool off 'cause nothing is worse than getting burned by scalding cheese. So while it's cooling mix up that cool crisp salad. Here's what I like to use:

romaine lettuce
hopped tomatoes
sliced red onions
sliced cucumber
1 cup of canned corn
1 cup of drained & rinsed black beans
avocado (if you've got one)
Spicy Ranch Dressing (add a few splashes of tasbasco sauce or mix salsa in)

Viola, your salad is done and the casserole is cool so grab a plate and dig in!

Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.

Recipe and picture courtesy of my favorite website CookingLight.com