Comfort food is something we all can relate to, no matter where you are from in the world. Whether it was your mom or grandma's home cooking, comfort food is something we can all turn to when searching for a filling meal that is sure to satisfy everyone. Yes, it's probably not very healthy, but who cares because taste overrules nutrition any day, right? Today's recipe, Million Dollar Chicken Casserole, combines tender chicken with a variety of cheeses, bacon, and green onions to create a baked casserole so delicious you will be asking for seconds before you even finish devouring your first plate. This low carb-high protein baked chicken dish is perfect for those cold winter days when you need a kick of energy between shoveling snow from the driveway and wrapping presents! Be warned, though, you may just find yourself enjoying a nice food coma after a hearty serving of this tasty meal. Simple, relatively quick, and delicious as can be, this recipe is sure to quickly become your favorite comfort food....Let's Get Cooking!
There are a few different ways to go about preparing this dish, but for the sake of time we will start with the chicken. Chicken breasts or tenders work great for this casserole, just be sure to butterfly, or slice in half, any large thick breasts to shorten the overall cooking time. Begin by seasoning both sides of the chicken with some salt/pepper and any other seasonings, particularly a bit of granulated garlic, if you wish. We only need to partially cook the chicken so feel free to use an indoor grill or sauté pan. If grilling, just leave the chicken on a couple minutes each side to create a nice sear, and if sauteing, 6 to 8 minutes should be plenty to get the chicken about half cooked. It will be baked later on so don't worry about it too much at this point. However, do not skip this partial cook or you will likely end up in the hospital with salmonella poisoning, just saying! This quick sear also helps the chicken stay together later on rather than shredding, which gives the final dish a bit nicer toothy bite in the end.
While the chicken is cooking, we can prepare the cheese mixture that truly makes anyone eating this dish feel like a millionaire! In a medium to large mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and mayonnaise. Get your daily arm workout in and mix these two ingredients until well combined. Set aside about 1/2 a cup of shredded cheese and a 1/4 cup of the crumbled bacon. You can certainly fry up some fresh bacon and crumble it yourself or use prepackaged bacon and save the hassle. I will say sauteing the chicken in that leftover bacon grease is a nice little extra flavor enhancer, though! Anyway, I digress. Add a cup of shredded cheese, 3/4 cup bacon crumbles, and a 1/2 cup of chopped green onions to the cream cheese/mayo base mixture and stir until everything is well incorporated. Oh, it would probably be a good idea to turn on your oven at this point and preheat it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit as well. As for the shredded cheese, any cheddar blend you have on hand will work for this recipe so go ahead and use your favorite mix or plain shredded cheddar. A spicy habanero or jalapeno jack blend would work well with the cream cheese and mayo to cool things down a bit as well. You do you as we are not judging anyone, at this point!
Your chicken should be at least half cooked at this point so remove it from the pan or grill and line the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Try to keep the chicken to a single layer and fairly even across the bottom of the baking dish. If you cooked your chicken in a couple of batches, simply add the pieces as they get half finished until the baking dish has a full layer of seared, partially cooked chicken.
As you can see, my chicken has turned white on the outside edges but remains raw in the center. Fully cooked chicken at this point would dry out during the baking process so keep the cooking to about how long it takes you to make the cheese mixture, about 6 minutes maximum. Speaking of the cheese mixture, use a spatula and evenly spread it across the tops of the chicken pieces. Take your time as this step can be a bit tedious, but a few minutes of carefully easing the cheese mixture around will cover the chicken without disturbing its placement much.
Still with me? Nothing too difficult so far, eh? Remember that bit of shredded cheese and bacon we put aside earlier? Go ahead and spread that on top of the cheese mixture layer to double down on flavor and looks of the final product. You can never have enough cheese and bacon! Am I right or what?
Hopefully your oven is preheated by this point so go ahead and slide this cheesy chicken casserole right on in and let it bake for about 35 minutes or so, uncovered. Ultimately it all comes down to how thick your chicken was to begin with and how far you partially cooked it to determine overall baking time. This is one of the few times I will suggest getting out that meat thermometer and checking. Once your chicken reaches an internal 165 degrees Fahrenheit, pull if from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes before slicing in and trying to serve.
Since we are baking this at 350 degrees, which is relatively low, the chicken should finish cooking while the cheese topping melts and browns about the same time. If you happen to see your cheese is browning too fast and the chicken is far from being cooked, simply cover with some aluminum foil to finish the chicken up without burning the top cheese layer. Anyway, that's it for this super simple tasty Million Dollar Cheesy Chicken Casserole! You will likely have to take a knife or pizza cutter to portion out the dish, or just scoop up a couple pieces of chicken and everything on top. It's a super creamy cheesy mess but both methods will get it onto your plate and into those awaiting hungry mouths. Will you be trying this simple cheesy chicken casserole for your next weeknight dinner? Let me know how yours turned out and if you made any delicious changes to the base recipe! There really isn't a whole lot going on making this a very kid friendly crowd pleaser, and believe it or not, if you keep the portion sizes reasonable it isn't terribly unhealthy, lol. Just pair it with a salad and forget to mention it to your nutritionist or doctor if they ask what you have been eating, but as always, get in the kitchen and make something tasty.....Just Keep Cooking!
MILLION DOLLAR CHEESY CHICKEN CASSEROLE
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