One of my favorite guilty pleasure food items in the whole world is Ro*tel dip, straight up melted Velveeta cheese and Ro*tel tomatoes. It’s a must-have on New Year’s Eve and it’s the base for any number of dips, most importantly for a Super Bowl Dip that I make and that’s another post altogether.
Recently our Safeway had Ro*tel tomatoes on sale for nearly 50% off a can so we stocked up. I figured, I can do more than just make dip with spicy Mexican tomatoes. And sure enough, I did.
I present to you an easy-to-throw-together Mexican casserole that makes a great weeknight meal. It has just enough spice to keep it interesting, and you can bump up the flavor with your favorite hot sauce and also a dollop of sour cream. We each had seconds of this dish … just sayin’ …
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp ground chili powder, I used Ancho chili powder
- 1 can Original Rotel tomatoes
- 1 can condensed Cream of Chicken soup
- 1 small can of chopped green chiles, or Mexican salsa
- 2 cups shredded Mexican 4-cheese blend
- 2 green onions sliced, green and white parts
- 1 bag tortilla chips, crushed
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Place chicken breasts in a skillet and cover at least half-way with cold water.
- Add cumin, salt, chili powder, cover, bring to boil, reduce to simmer to 10 minutes. Remove skillet from burner and let cool.
- Prepare an 8” x 8” or 9" x 9" baking dish, spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together Rotel tomatoes, condensed Cream of Chicken soup, green chiles/Mexican salsa, cheese, ⅔ of the green onions until well combined.
- Remove chicken breasts from skillet, and transfer to a cutting board. Let cool to the touch. Cut chicken into small bite sized cubes and incorporate into cheesy Rotel mixture.
- In baking dish add ½ crushed chips and ½ cheesy Rotel chicken mixture, repeat layers and top with a few crushed chips, remaining sliced green onions, sliced black olives, light coating of cheese.
- Put on a baking sheet and bake for 60 minutes.