King Ranch Chicken

chicken cooked in one jar of salsa

I don't always measure, so today won't have any "recipe".  This is what I made for dinner tonight. A friend taught me how to make Mexican chicken some time back. She uses a slow cooker, and I just cook it on my stovetop. The results are the same.

Today, I added 5 ginormous boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a large pot. Threw in one 16 ounce jar of salsa. Cooked it for several hours and allowed it to cool down. Once warm, I shred it using my hand held mixer. No need to  drain as the juices blend in with the chicken and create the perfect chicken for tacos, enchiladas or any other Mexican dish you may be creating.

I took half of the chicken mixture, added one can of gluten free cream of mushroom soup (if using condensed cream of mushroom, add the milk) and one can of tomatoes with green chiles.  Stir this together and you are one step closer to King Ranch chicken.

My mom made this dish growing up, but used chicken slices/cubes instead of seasoned, shredded chicken.  I add one layer of the chicken, soup, tomato mix to the bottom of the casserole dish, then add cheese and a layer of tortilla chips. Cover the top layer with cheese and bake in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes before serving.  Super simple.

first layer

chicken after shredding with mixer