- 4 Large chicken breasts
- 2 celery ribs, cut into 3 pieces each
- 2 carrots
- 3 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 medium onions, chopped
- 1 medium -size bell pepper, chopped
- 1 garlic, pressed
- 1 (10 & 3/4.oz.)can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 2 (10 cans diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
- 1 tsp.dried oregano
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp Mexican-style chili powder *
- 3 cups grated Cheddar cheese
- 12 ( 6-inch) fajita-size corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips
Directions:
1. Place chicken, celery, carrots and salt in a large pot or Dutch oven with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 50 minutes to 1 hour or until chicken is done. Remove from heat. Remove chicken from broth: cool 30 minutes. Remove and reserve 3/4 cooking liquid. Strain any remaining cooking liquid and reserve for another use.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a large skillet over med. to high heat. Add onion and saute 6 to 7 minutes or until tender. Add bell pepper and garlic and saute 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in reserved 3/4 cup cooking liquid, cream of mushroom soup and next 5 ingredients,stirring occasionally, 8 minutes.
3. Skin and bone chicken; Shred meat into bite size pieces. Layer half of chicken in a lightly greased 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Top with soup mixture. and 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Cover with half of corn tortilla strips. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
* 1 tsp. chili powder and 1/8 tsp. ground red pepper may be substituted for Mexican style chili powder.
