King Ranch Chicken

King Ranch Chicken is a Tex-Mex casserole dish made with tortilla or tortilla chips, chicken, onion, bell pepper, a tomato sauce, soup and cheese. It typically consists of a bottom layer of tortilla and a top layer of cheese, other ingredients lined in between. It may also be made of alternating layers of tortilla strips and chicken-and-sauce mixture. The dish gets its name from King Ranch, which is one of the largest ranches of the world, though it may or may not have originated from the same region.

 

 

Ingredients and Preparation

Ingredients suggested by the king ranch chicken recipe are chicken in chunk or shredded form, diced Ro-tel tomatoes, tortilla or tortilla chips, bell peppers, cheese, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup and cheese. Flavoring ingredients include garlic, green chilies, oregano, ground cumin and Mexican style chili powder. Carrots and celery ribs are often included, and corn tortillas used are fajita sized, which are cut into strips. Cheddar or Cojack cheese may be used, and jalepano peppers may be used for extra heat.

 

To prepare the dish, the tortilla strips or chips are lined at the bottom of a casserole dish, and topped with a mixture of cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, onions and tomatoes. This is then topped with cooked chicken pieces, cheese and more soup mixture. The dish is baked, then topped with more cheese and returned to the oven till the cheese melts.

 

Chicken is pre-cooked in water by simmering, often with vegetables like carrots and celery. Ingredients like garlic, onions and bell peppers are cooked by sautéing in heated oil. Many recipes suggest mixing the cooked chicken, vegetables, soups and seasonings before topping the tortilla strips with them. Others suggest repeating alternating layers of tortilla strips and the chicken mixture. The casserole can also be frozen for up to a month and thawed and baked just before serving.

 

Some recipes omit use of soup and make the sauce by adding flour, heavy cream and chicken broth to a sauce made with tomatoes, onions and seasonings. The chicken pieces may also be cooked in the same sauce.

 

 

Serving

King Ranch Chicken is served hot, as a main course dish, with accompaniments like a vegetable salad made with vinaigrette dressing, often containing additional hot sauce for flavor.

 

 

Nutritional Information

The casserole is an excellent source of protein on account of the chicken in the dish. Cheese serves as a great source of calcium, which is good for bone and dental health. Various other vegetables bring in their respective sets of vitamins and also fiber. This nutritious comfort dish can be reduced in calorie count by use of low fat versions of cheese. The calorie count for a single serving of the dish may be anywhere between 300 and 700 calories, and varies with type of ingredients used and their ratio.