Jalapeno Chicken Casserole

Well, looks like the cat is out of the bag, Laura (my sister) if you are reading this, please forgive me!  Why am I asking for her forgiveness?  I may or may not have not mentioned the word jalapeno when I invited my sister over for dinner and told her what I was making!  My sister is a wimp when it comes to spicy food; for instance, she claims to LOVE buffalo wings, but then wipe all of the sauce off of each one before she eats it....so weird!!!  So when she asked what I was making, I told her Mexican Chicken Casserole, she said yum, so I said see you at 6!  I knew that if I mentioned the "J" word she would not even try it, so I had to be a little bit sneaky....but isn't that what big sisters are for???

So at 6 last Sunday night, my sister and my parents arrived for dinner; we sat down and ate, and guess what?  They all liked it!  My sister made a little mention that a few of her bites were a little spicy, but like I said before, she is a major spice wimp.  This was really good, and fresh tasting.  I liked that it didn't use a canned soup as the base, which I am not against at all, but they can sometimes make dishes feel really heavy.  I also really liked the addition of the spinach, it was a good way to get in some veggies, this almost tasted like a spicy spinach dip with chicken, which is definitely not a bad thing in my opinion!

My only suggestion when making this would be to use more chicken.  The pound of chicken called for in the recipe seemed a little sparse to me, but do what you like!  I was also thinking of maybe instead of adding more chicken, to just use a can of black beans, or even use no chicken at all and just black beans....mmm beans....well they don't call me The Bean Queen for nothing!

I am really sorry I didn't get a picture of the insides, but trust me, it was very pretty!

Jalapeno Chicken Casserole

adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen

2 Tbsp. butter

1 onion, diced

3 jalapenos fresh, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. flour
20 oz chicken stock
salt and pepper, to taste
10 oz pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 Tbsp. pickled jalapenos, diced
2 Tbsp. jalapeno pickling liquid
2 c. light sour cream
4 green onions, tops only, diced
2 Tbsp. lime juice, or about 1 lime
1 large bag of tortilla chips
1 lb chicken, cooked and chopped
2-3 c. cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
fresh cilantro, chopped

Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Saute onions, jalapenos, and garlic until soft. Sprinkle flour over jalapeno mixture and cook for several minutes until golden. Add chicken stock to pan and stir until smooth. Cook, stirring often, until simmering and slightly thickened. Season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, combine spinach, pickled jalapenos and liquid, sour cream, lime juice and green onions. Add chicken stock mixture to sour cream mixture and stir thoroughly until mixed.

In a 9 x 13 baking dish, layer a handful of crushed tortilla chips, chopped chicken, and half of the sauce mixture. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Add another layer of crushed tortilla chips, and the rest of the chicken and sauce mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Top casserole with another layer of crushed tortilla chips and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

Bake casserole for 30 to 40 or until hot and browned. Top with fresh pico de gallo, if desired.

I served mine with a big pot of pinto beans.....mmm mmm good!