Reduced Fat King Ranch Casserole

By Patlynn

This comforting Texas casserole is loaded with condensed soup and cheese sauce, not to mention a Frito topping. After nixing the canned soup, we cut fat and calories by replacing the heavy cream and most of the cheese with a combination of low-fat cream cheese and a flour-thickened broth. Our own seasoned corn tortillas make for a crunchy, flavorful topping without turning to a bag of corn chips. Tomatoes, chiles, onions, and fresh cilantro round out this lighter but just as comforting take on the classic

Ingredients

• 10 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Vegetable oil spray
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 pound onions, chopped fine
• 2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 (10-ounce) cans Ro-tel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, halved lengthwise
• 6 ounces Colby Jack cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
• 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese (neufchatel), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Divide tortillas between 2 baking sheets and spray both sides lightly with vegetable oil spray. Bake until brown and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking; cool slightly. Pulse 2 tortillas, garlic, chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in food processor until coarsely ground, about 12 pulses; set aside. Break remaining 8 tortillas into bite-size pieces.
2. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, jalapeños, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juice and cook until most of liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add chicken, return to simmer, and cook until no longer pink, about 12 minutes.
3. Remove pot from heat and transfer chicken to plate. Add Colby Jack, neufchatel, and cilantro to pot and stir until cheese is melted. Once cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-size pieces and return to pot.
4. Scatter half of bite-size tortilla pieces in 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Spoon half of filling evenly over tortillas. Scatter remaining bite-size tortillas over filling, then top with remaining filling. Sprinkle spiced, coarsely ground tortilla mixture evenly over top of casserole. Spray lightly with vegetable oil spray. Bake on upper-middle oven rack until filling is bubbling and topping is brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Serve.