Buffalo Chicken Mexican Casserole

It's a long weekend and I am so excited to be able to spend time with Baby Girl. It's just me and her today and we decided to cook up something spicy, cheesy, and yummy!

I am not sure if I told you previously that Baby Girl doesn't particularly like lasagna...I know...it's ludicrous! She said that she doesn't like the ricotta cheese, which I find kind of crazy...but any who...I had to do something to hide the ricotta and I did it by creating my Hot Wing Chicken Lasagna which was so spicy, cheesy, and creamy, Baby Girl didn't taste the ricotta at all!

This brings us to today...I asked Baby Girl what she wanted to cook and she said let's make something like the Hot Wing Chicken Lasagna but put a Mexican spin on it...I told her to step back...I got this!

I pulled out all my Mexican ingredients, which I keep readily available and we created some pure food goodness people!

I sauteed some Anaheim Chiles, jalapenos, bell pepper, onion and tomatoes...with a little garlic.

I added the cooked veggies to my sour cream, ricotta, cream cheese, chipotle pepper, hot sauce and blue cheese dressing, blend it well and set it aside.

Next, I sauteed some chicken breast in olive oil, until nice and brown. Then you just layer ingredients.

Start with placing a little sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish, then dip the corn shells in the remaining sauce, top with chicken, cheese, more dipped shells and repeat.

Finish off with dipped shells, cheese, a little green onions and that's it. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes covered, remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

Don't forget you can assemble this dish and freeze it covered. Just thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before baking.

I have to tell ya...this casserole is DA BOMB! Yes...in capital letters people...something about the corn shells that absorbs all the creamy, spicy, sauce...it's just a food party in your mouth...you have to make this...you must...I promise you, if you like Buffalo wings and Mexican food, this is your go to casserole!

Buffalo Chicken Mexican Casserole

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast, boneless, skinless
1/2 cup Tapatio hot sauce
1/2 cup Kens blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
4 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups jack cheese, grated
2 cups sharp cheese, grated
1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese
1 onion, diced
1 Anaheim chile, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 chipotle pepper
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 Roma tomato, seeded, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon creole seasonings
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 stalks green onions to garnish, sliced
36 corn tortilla shells
extra virgin olive oil
tomatoes to garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix seasoning blend together, reserve 1 tablespoon, and set aside.

Mix jack, sharp, and Gorgonzola cheeses together and set aside. 

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Dice chicken into 1 inch chunks, place chicken in a large bowl, coat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the remaining seasoning blend, mix well and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pan, add onion, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, Anaheim chile, tomato and saute for 5 minutes, add spices and garlic, cook 1 minute more.

In a blender add hot sauce, ricotta, cream cheese, sour cream, chipotle pepper, and cooked vegetables. Blend for about 3 minutes and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons to pan over medium heat, add chicken and saute for about 10 minutes.

Soften corn shells in microwave for about 20 seconds if needed to make more pliable.

To assemble casserole:

In a greased 13X 9 inch casserole dish add a little sauce on bottom, pour remaining sauce in a large bowl. Dip corn shell remaining sauce, overlap on bottom of casserole dish slightly.

Place half the chicken on top of the shells, place 1/3 of the grated cheese, top with a second layer of corn shells, dipped in sauce, top with remaining chicken, add half of the remaining cheese, top with more corn shells dipped and sauce, top with remaining cheese, green onions, and any remaining sauce.

Cover with foil, bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake 15 more minutes.