Chicken Chili Casserole, or whatever it was that Karen re-named it :)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 T cornmeal
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce
4 cups cooked chopped or shredded chicken
2 cups fresh or defrosted frozen corn
1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups tortilla chips (6-8 oz)
1 12/ cups finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Heat the oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and sauté for three minutes. Add the cornmeal, stirring to incorporate it into the vegetables (about 2 minutes). Slowly add the broth and tomato sauce. Bring mixture to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the chicken, corn, beans, salt and pepper. Simmer (uncovered) an additional 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
Coat the inside of a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray (I used two 8x8 pans to divide it in half. If you have a larger family, you could double the recipe and make one for now and freeze one for later). Line the baking dish with enough chips to cover the bottom of the pan. Spoon the chili over the chips, top with remaining chips and sprinkle cheeses over the chips. Cover pan with foil.
At this point, you can either bake it immediately at 350°F for 20 minutes or if you want to freeze it, do the following:
Freezing- Allow the dish to cool a little bit, then freeze for up to one month. When ready to bake, defrost the casserole in the refrigerator overnight. Allow casserole to come to room temperature before baking (about 30 minutes). Bake (covered) for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until it is hot and bubbling.
Another way to do this is to fill individual gratin dishes with about 1 cup of chili per serving. Bake for 10 minutes covered and an additional 15-20 minutes uncovered. This way you can cook up the number of dishes needed to feed the number of people that are hungry.
We really liked this dish and we will keep it in our rotation of dinner menus. Even Bud liked it, so that means it wasn't too spicy.
3 comments:
Wouldn't freezing and defrosting make the chips nasty? ps I only skimmed this so sorry if you addressed this issue already
I haven't tried freezing then cooking it. However, I think that it would be perfectly fine because it is being baked fresh after freezing which will crisp the chips up at the end.
I will make it again and freeze it, then bake it, and let you know how it goes.
I thought the same thing as Laura. I use "Don't Panic, DInner is in the Freezer" if you are looking for another source.
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