Mashed Potato Casserole with Pulled Chicken and Crispy Bacon

By MooK

Ingredients

• One 6-ounce chicken breast
• 5/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 5/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 medium russet potatoes
• 3 slices bacon
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 425°. Season the chicken breast with 1/8 teaspoon each of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. In a small pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 1 minute. Turn the chicken, reduce the heat, cover the pan and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, leave covered for 10 minutes, then shred the chicken with 2 forks.

Meanwhile, scrub the potatoes well, quarter them and cook in a medium pot of boiling salted water for 10 minutes, until they are soft. Drain and roughly mash the potatoes.

Meanwhile, arrange the bacon on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until the bacon is quite crispy. Remove from the oven, let cool and then crumble.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, water, garlic and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
In an 8-inch-square baking dish, combine the potatoes, bacon and cream cheese sauce. Bake uncovered in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.