A Pinterest Recipe ~ Blogtoberfest Day 8

I gave in and jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon and it's been a love/hate relationship ever since!  It is so addicting yet so inspiring.  One of my favorite things to look for while I'm there is recipes.  I have three boards dedicated to food and I start drooling just looking at them.

The first recipe I tried wasn't so great.  We ate it but wouldn't make it again.  However the second one is a keeper.  It's Mexican Chicken Casserole and the recipe is originally from Cooking Light December 1998 and can be found at My Recipes.  It's a great base recipe that you can change up to suit your own taste buds.

1 cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth  

2 (4.5 ounce) cans chopped green chiles, divided

1 3/4 pounds bonless chicken breasts

2 tsp. olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup evaporated skim milk 

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup tub style light cream cheese

1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (I used medium for a kick)

12 (6 inch) corn tortillas 

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

1 ounce tortilla chips, crushed (about 6 chips) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine broth and 1 can of chiles in a large skillet: bring to a boil.  Add cicken: reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken once.  Remove chicken from cooking liquid, reserving cooking liquid: cool chicken.  Shred meat with two forks and set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 can of chiles and onion; saute about 3 minutes or until soft.  Add reserved cooking liquid, milk, Monterey Jack, cream cheese, and enchilada sauce; stir well.  Stir in shredded chicken and cook about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Place 4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole sprayed with cooking spray.  spoon 2 cups of chicken mixture over tortillas.  Repeat layers twice, ending with chicken mixture.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips.  Bake for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated and bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Makes 8 servings

This is how I changed it up: 

 I used regular chicken broth                

 I added 3 minced garlic cloves with the onion                                           

Couldn't find evap. skim milk but found evap 2%

 For the Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, I just used a Mexican blend

 I used more that 1/2 cup of cheese for the topping

 I used way more than 6 chips but will probably eliminate them next time

 I added about 2 tsp. ground cumin and a couple shakes of dried cilantro when making the sauce

Are you on Pinterest yet?  What is your favorite thing to look for?