Recipe Recommendation: NASCAR Chicken Casserole by Carol Gordon Bickford

This recipe comes courtesy of Carol Gordon Bickford via Rachael Ray. Before my two-year-old discovered PBS, I watched a lot of THE RACHAEL RAY SHOW in the mornings, and when she had NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon on as a guest, she invited his mother on as well to share a recipe or two. Which is why I call this dish NASCAR Chicken Casserole.

Here is the original recipe from Rachael Ray’s online hub, and here is my slightly less labor-intensive version:

NASCAR Chicken Casserole

4 to 6 chicken breasts (or up to 1-1/2 pounds)
1 package tortillas (8 to 12)
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (your choice of color)
1 4-ounce can diced green chile peppers
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 6-ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups of cheddar cheese, grated (or 8 ounces)

Cook the chicken breasts however you prefer. Boiling works well, roasting even better, and either one will take you about an hour. If you decide to roast, try seasoning liberally with salt, black pepper, and any other spices you like, wrapping in aluminum foil, and baking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour.

Saute onion and bell pepper over medium to medium-low heat until the onion turns translucent and the bell pepper starts to soften. Add diced green chile peppers. Mix soups and tomato sauce in a small bowl; add to the vegetable mixture.

While those flavors combine, mix chili and garlic powders with the 2 cups grated cheese. Then layer all ingredients (chicken, tortillas, vegetable-soup mixture, and cheese mixture) in a 9x13-inch baking dish and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

Obviously, if you’re in a time crunch--or if you live in southern Nevada in the summertime, like me--you can shorten the bake time or change the baking temperature. That’s the nice thing about cooking over baking: Everything’s negotiable:)

Definitely try this recipe. It’s a kid--and parent--pleaser.