Recipe - King Ranch Chicken Casserole

This is actually a recipe I got from a friend's mom and even though it takes a little bit more prep work, it's totally worth it in the end (and freezes really well)!!

(Please excuse the change in format!)

King Ranch Chicken

Minutes to prepare: 1 hour 30 minutes

Minutes to cook: 55 minutes

Number of servings: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 2-4 split chicken breasts, with rib meat (bone-in)
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 3 pieces each
• 2 carrots cut into 3 pieces each
• 3 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 10 oz cans diced tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 3 cups grated sharp cheddar
• 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas cut into ½ inch strips

DIRECTIONS 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
2. Remove skin and any large pieces of fat. Place the chicken, celery, carrots, and salt in a large Dutch oven with water to cover.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove chicken from broth and let cool.  Reserve ¾ cup of broth. 
3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté 6 to 7 minutes until tender.  Add green pepper and garlic and sauté 3 to 4 more minutes.  Stir in ¾ cup of chicken broth, soups, tomatoes and spices.  Cook, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes. 
4. Skin and bone cooled chicken.  Shred into bite sized pieces. 
5. Layer half of the chicken in the dish.  Top with half the soup mixture, 1 cup of cheese, and half of the corn tortillas strips.  Repeat the layers and then add the remaining 1 cup of cheese on top of the tortilla layer. 
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes to one hour until bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.