Chicken & Tortilla Casserole

This dish will always have a fond place in my heart. It hails from my humble beginnings in the kitchen. And is still to this day, one of the recipes my family requests the most. I went ahead and added the ampersand (&) to the title. You see, we have just always called it Chicken Tortilla Casserole. No distinction. No proper punctuation. Just a big 'ole run-on title. I mean, who am I trying to impress? My family would eat it even if I called it "Glop", right? RIGHT. But as I started to write this post, I thought, will this confuse anyone? Surely you all will know that there aren't tortillas that are actually made from chicken, right? But just in case...the "AND" sign it is! Chicken AND Tortilla Casserole. There. Distinction. Punctuation.
I feel so foofy and snobby...

As simple as this dish is, it REALLY is to die for! A wonderful, creamy, cheesy, chickeny, dish of goodness. Comfort food at it's best!
I like to make mine by simmering a whole chicken in my stock pot for about an hour; that way I get all the tender meat along with the broth. (You'll need both for this dish.) But if you're in a pinch, or just want to cut a few corners, a rotisserie chicken and a can of chicken broth will do the trick.



Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cooked/meat shredded
1 Tbs olive oil (or butter) not both
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 can (4.5 oz) diced green chiles
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded jack cheese
10 corn tortillas, cut into strips
1 to 2 cups chicken broth

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small skillet, saute your onion and chiles for a few minutes; just until onion softens a bit. Add garlic and heat another minute or two. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix soup with onion/chile mixture. Stir well. Add celery salt and pepper. Give it a good stir. Add 1 cup of each cheese (reserving 1/2 cup of each for topping), and stir to combine.
Add chicken and stir well. Mixture will be very thick. Here is where I add the chicken broth, 1/2 cup at a time, until mixture is moist.
Cut tortillas into strips. You will have some with rounded edges. No worries, it all works out just fine!
Layer the bottom of a 9x13 pan with enough tortilla pieces to cover it.
Next, spoon half the chicken mixture over tortilla strips. Layer one more time with tortillas and other half of chicken mixture. Sprinkle with reserved cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until nice and bubbly.
Garnish with your favorite taco toppings.
Serves 6
*Not a fan of condensed soup? Click HERE to learn how to make your own