Growing up in that unnamed Northeast State, I never experienced King Ranch Casserole. In fact, yesterday was the first time I made it. I needed a one dish wonder because I was processing and canning the pears from my tree by the old farmhouse. They are wonderful this year. The cool rainy weather was great for their growing season. But more about them in my next post. Anyway, it is not a pretty, sexy dish as you can see from the photo but it is filling with ooey, gooey cheesey goodness. This recipe does use the condensed canned soups instead of scratch but I did need the time saving aspect yesterday. Some people think that this dish came from the King Ranch but a well known Texas magazine suspects that it was a Junior League attempt at Chicken A La King. I don’t watch the tv show “Madmen” but I can imagine a version of KRC being served at a buffet. LOL!

2 tablespoons unsalted Butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1/2 Sweet Red Pepper, chopped
1/2 Sweet Orange Pepper, chopped
1 small Onion, chopped
1 small Pablano Pepper, chopped
1 Anahiem Pepper, chopped
2 small Jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground Red Cayenne Pepper
Ground Black Pepper to taste
1 can (10 oz) condensed Cream of Chicken soup
1 can (10 oz) condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained, (Ro-Tel style)
2 cups cooked Chicken, diced
12 corn Tortillas (6 inch) torn into bite size pieces
2 handfulls of corn Tortillas chips, crushed
1 cup (4 ozs) Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 oz) Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 325 degree F. Spray a 13 x 9 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. I use the EVOO style. Set aside.
Over medium heat melt the butter in a large saute pan. Saute, all peppers, onion, cayenne powder and black pepper for about 5 minutes or until peppers are tender. Add the soups and undrained tomatoes. Mix well. Add chicken and cook for about 3 minutes.
Layer half of the torn corn tortillas and half of the corn chips in the baking dish. Top with half of the chicken mixture. Mix cheeses and top with half of it. Layer the remaining tortillas and chips. Top with chicken mixture and finish with the cheese. Bake uncovered on the lower oven rack for 40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and let the casserole to set for about 10 minutes.