Thursday, March 28, 2013

Baked Potato Casserole - Pinterest








Ingredients:
  • 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 8 -10 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I leave the skin on)
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 6 tablespoons hot sauce
Topping
  • 2 cups fiesta Mexican blend cheese or 2 cups monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend
  • 1 cup crumbled cooked bacon
  • 1 cup diced green onion
Directions
Preheat oven to 500F (This is NOT a typo, 500F is correct!) .
In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, hot sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder & paprika.
Add the cube potatoes and stir to coat.
Add the potatoes to a greased baking dish.
When scooping the potatoes into the baking dish, leave behind any extra olive oil/hot sauce mix.
Add the diced chicken to the “left behind” olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat all the chicken. Allow to marinate as the potatoes bake.
Roast the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and nice and crispy on the outside.
Once the potatoes are fully cooked add the marinated chicken.
Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400°F.
In a large bowl mix all the topping ingredients together.
Top the raw chicken with the topping.
Bake 15 minutes or until until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is melted and bubbly delicious.
Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

I've been stalking Pinterest lately for new recipes. I have great new cookbooks I received for Christmas (which I also have to post about) but pinterest seems to be an easy way to share great ideas. When I saw this recipe, I knew I would be making it immediately.
I first cut the recipe in half, Brad and I often don't eat enough for servings of 4 let alone 8. I also decided that there needed to be something green on the plate, green beans are always an easy fix. Broccoli would've also gone well, but I tend to make it a lot and wanting to bring a change of veggies about. They were a nice add, especially since this was so spicy. I would suggest reducing the hot sauce, unless you really love spicy food and cleared sinuses. That is also why you will notice sour cream in the picture, to cut some of the heat. Other than that, this recipe was awesome and super easy. Happy cooking!

Here is the link to the original: http://www.quickneasyrecipes.net/loaded-baked-potato-chicken-casserole/