King Ranch Chicken Quinoa Casserole

Do you ever have those periods in your life where it feels like no matter how hard you work you can never get caught up? That is how I’m feeling these days.

I have a ton of recipes setting in my WordPress dashboard to share, and yet I never seem to get around to posting.

It’s not that I don’t love you guys, promise.

I just have a lot going on. This blog, my new WendyPolisi.com website I’m constructing, my essential oil business, busy boys and a crazy toddler who needs me to kiss her at least a 1,000 times a day. (Ok, I need to kiss her that much. She’d probably be just fine with fewer kisses.)

You know what else is going on? Everyone around here is getting so big and they seriously need to stop it.

Yesterday it was rainy and Skye and I were out on the back porch. She ran into the grass and I needed to follow her but didn’t have shoes. I suddenly realized that my 9 year olds shoes were the same size as mine and I could just put them on.

Now this wouldn’t be a big deal if I wore a dainty little size 6.

But I’m a 9 1/2. We are talking Big Foot.

See? I told you they need to cut out this growing stuff.

If you are similarly overwhelmed with how much you have to do and how fast time is passing, you will appreciate today’s casserole. Pure comfort food with a fraction of the guilt.

Now if I could just come up with a remedy to keep the kids little…

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King Ranch Chicken Quinoa Casserole

Author Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 sweet onion chopped fine
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 7 ounces roasted green chiles drained chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour preferably toasted
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 pound shredded chicken or tempeh
• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
• 12 organic corn tortillas torn
• 1 cup 2% Greek Yogurt or sour cream see note
• 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese or Daiya
• 6 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese or Daiya Mozzarella

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with oil.
2. Place oil in a skillet and heat to medium. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic, chilies and chipotle chile powder cook for three minutes longer Whisk in the flour and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, whisking often to avoid burning. Slowly add in chicken broth, whisking until the mixture begins to boil. Stir in milk and salsa and cook at a simmer for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
3. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the prepared dish. Top with 4 of the torn tortillas.
4. In a large bowl combine chicken, quinoa, yogurt (or sour cream) and 1 cup of cheese. Spread 1/2 of the mixture over the tortillas and top with half of the remaining sauce and tortillas. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Spread remaining chicken mixture and top of the tortillas and top with the remaining tortillas and then sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes and serve warm. May be made ahead and refrigerated prior to cooking or frozen for up to one month.
6. Note: When using Greek Yogurt in place of sour cream, I like to place it in a fine metal strainer set over a bowl for about an hour. (You can also place it in the fridge overnight.) This allows some of the liquid to drain off and prevents the casserole from getting runny.