Recipe rut: week 4

Wow! This was a good recipe...Chicken Tortilla Casserole. Everyone loved it, it made enough for two nights, warmed up great the next day for leftovers, and was pretty easy...I'd call this a 'win-win' (win-win-win if you a fan of "The Office"). I did make a few changes to make it even easier for me and have denoted those in blue below.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole
Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied into halves (4 halves total) I went ahead and just diced up my chicken and seasoned it
2 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
1 shallot, minced I didn't use it...swore I bought one, but it didn't make it home from the grocery store
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp. minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce I don't like this one bit. I used a can of green chilis
1¾ cups chicken broth
5 cups tortilla chips, broken into large pieces
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
Pat the chicken breast halves dry and season with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a 10-12 inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides (chicken does not need to be fully cooked at this point.)  Transfer to a plate and set aside. I just sauteed my chicken pieces and went on with the next step. I didn't even bother to remove them to a plate. 

Add the remaining oil, shallot, garlic, chipotle, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.  Cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the chicken broth, scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a simmer.

Stir in half of the tortilla chips.  Nestle the chicken into the broth and cook over medium-low heat until cooked through (reading 160° F on an instant-read thermometer), about 10 minutes.  Transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a cutting board and shred into bite-sized pieces when it is cool enough to handle. Because my chicken is already cut up, shredding isn't needed nor is removing it from the pan and cooling it.

Return the shredded chicken to the skillet with the tomatoes, ½ cup of the shredded cheddar cheese, and 1 tablespoon of the cilantro.  Stir in the other half of the tortilla chips until they are incorporated and moistened.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and place the pan under the broiler until the cheese is melted and browning, about 2-3 minutes.  Top with remaining cilantro and serve, allowing the casserole to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Source: Annie's Eats, who adapted it from Cook’s Illustrated

*borrowed this image from Annie's Eat because we were too hungry and excited to stand it any longer...we dove in!