Casserole Comeback!

Oh do I have a great one for you tonight! 

I made this dish up yesterday afternoon and stashed it away for a quick dinner tonight since I knew I wouldn’t have much time to cook after work today (workout night!)

Not only that, this made two small casseroles so I have one stashed in the freezer for a fast meal at a later date too 🙂

Love that!

I also incorporated Greek yogurt into this recipe, I mean, can you believe it? 😉

None other than my favorite Chobani too of course!

So here you go, if you’re looking for an easy make-ahead meal(s) that also tastes deelish, you’re in for a treat!

Green Chile Chicken Casserole

Note:  this recipe made two small casseroles, each one serving 4 nornal dinner portions.  Feel free to make one large casserole with twice the layers if you’d like, it just may take a bit longer to bake!

Does anyone else feel like casseroles are becoming retro-cool?  The dishes that our parents used to eat growing up finding their way back onto the dinner table…

Perhaps it’s the cold weather that’s driving my attention towards these warm comforting meals?  Or perhaps it’s that they are just too darn easy and too darn good to pass up!

• 1 lb. chicken breast, cooked & shredded (unpictured)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 8 oz. can diced green chiles (unpictured)
• 1 container plain 2% Chobani Greek yogurt
• 16 corn tortillas
• 3/4 large block cheddar, grated
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

Start by cooking your chopped onions in some olive oil, until they become translucent but not browned. 

While the onions are cooking away, poach your chicken breasts in some boiling water until cooked through.

I used just under a pound of thinly sliced chicken breast so this was fast – about 6-7 minutes.

Then shred using the 2-fork method.

At this point you are ready to combine your casserole “filling.”  Into a hot pot goes the cream of chicken soup, cooked onions & chicken, diced green chiles and finally the Greek yogurt.  Stir to combine & season with salt & pepper.

Let this heat over medium-low, covered, for just about 5 minutes to let all the flavors get happy.

Now it’s time to assemble this easy casserole.

You’ll need your shredded cheese.

And corn tortillas.

Like I said, I made two smaller casseroles out of this.  So split the ingredient list above down the middle.

Casserole #1:

Spray baking dish with some cooking spray, then layer 4 corn tortillas on the bottom.

Top with a thin layer of the chicken mixture.

Then repeat.  Another layer of corn tortillas and chicken.

This is a double decker kinda deal 😛

NOTE:  If you don’t want a crunchier tortilla bottom I would spread an additional layer of the chicken mixture in the pan before adding the first layer of tortillas.

Topped off with shredded cheese.

Into a 350F oven for about 40 minutes, or until cheese gets a bit browned (that’s how we like ours at least, you can do less time if you don’t).

Day-ahead dinner done.  Check!

Into the fridge until tomorrow you go 🙂

Casserole #2

This one I made to store in the freezer for a later time. 

I layered exactly the same as shown above, except this one I did not bake.

I simply covered it, labeled it and popped it into the freezer.

See you soon lil’ casserole! 😉

Alright enough talk, let’s eat already!

After work today all I had to do was pop the pre-cooked casserole into a 350F oven, covered with foil, for 30 minutes until warmed through and the cheese melted.

Take 1.

Take 2.

Take 3.

And don’t forget your greens!

So what was the verdict on this casserole?

The Man and I both loved it!!!  The flavor was spot on.  The bottom layer of tortillas got nice n’ crispy while the top was ooey-gooey and cheesy 🙂

He couldn’t believe there was yogurt in there either… honestly, either could I?!

I can’t wait already for this dinner’s twin that’s stashed away in the freezer!!

Not only was this casserole convenient & delicious, it’s also pretty darn good for ya.  Swapping a high-protein, low fat Greek yogurt for sour cream not only lowers the fat & calories but also amps up the protein. 

I’ll call this a make-ahead dinner win!

Yum 😀