Mexican Chicken & Potato Casserole. And salsa!

Why look!  It's an actual blog post from me.  Shocking, I know.  No excuses or apologies.  It's just life!  :)

A couple of days ago I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and after reading through the comments, I got some ideas on how to adapt it.  This is my interpretation.  The original recipe can be found here.

I also made some salsa that night.  Some Pioneer Woman Restaurant Style Salsa, which I actually found through Good Life Eats.  Salsa, like most food, is very personal.  What works for me may not work for you.  But here's how I changed the recipe up to suit my family (and I may still tweak it a bit!).  Note:  I started with the adaptation of the recipe from Good Life Eats, except I used two cans of original Rotel. 

I mixed my salsa up in the blender.  If you want it slightly chunkier, I'd go for the food processor instead.  Next time, I will drain the cans of Rotel, and maybe the tomatoes too.  I left the seeds in the jalapeno (you can remove the seeds for a milder taste).  I added 1/2 of a serrano pepper and 1/2 of a habanero pepper (both had the seeds removed).  Blended it up, and then removed about 1/3 of that for the kiddos.  This was the mild version.  Sprout was eating it up like candy (that would be the 2 year old).  Even Munchkin was chowing down on it! 

Then I added the rest of the serrano and habanero peppers and finished blending.  This was for D and I.  It was good that night, but much better the next day.  This is one dish that is definitely better if you can prepare it at least a few hours early and refrigerate so the flavors can develop.  

Now, for the casserole recipe!

Mexican Chicken & Potato Casserole

1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp Mexican oregano
4 cups (about 1 pound) frozen southern style hash brown potatoes
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375'F.  Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, milk, Rotel (with liquid), dried minced onion, and spices.  Stir in the potatoes, chicken and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese.  Pour into prepared baking dish and top with remaining cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and nicely browned. 

Notes:

*I prepared this in the morning, placed in the refrigerator, and then baked when we got home that evening.  It worked out very well.  I wouldn't prepare it more than a day in advance though, unless you were going to turn it into a freezer meal.

*Next time I am going to add 1 can of rinsed & drained pinto beans as well as a cup of frozen corn to make it heartier (although it was quite good as written!). 

*D suggested taking the leftovers, adding some scrambling egg and making a breakfast burrito with it.

Enjoy!  :)