Green Chilies & Chicken Polenta Casserole

Got a new recipe for you. This past week I spent time with my friend, Tonia, in New Mexico. We made the trip out there to retrieve her year's worth of roasted Hatch peppers she left behind when they came back earlier this fall. They are worth the trip, believe me! Going to a potluck dinner at her mountain home church found us contemplating our contribution to the meal, aside from the two mouthwatering Rum cakes she made.

Tonia made a casserole from polenta and the beloved Hatch chilies.Yummy! We brought back an empty casserole dish...no leftovers to indulge ourselves on. The recipe today is...what else, but a Tweaked recipe I made last night expanding and exploring the world of uses for Polenta...there are many, this is but one. Polenta, if you are not familiar with it, is made of a course ground corn and used instead of potatoes or rice. There are endless uses for it and I intend to try many of them!

Green Chilies & Chicken Polenta Casserole 
(makes 1 Square casserole dish)  425 degree preheated oven

1 1/2 C dry Polenta
4 1/2 C chicken stock
1 medium onion - 1/2 fine dice, 1/2 big chopped
4 large cloves garlic crushed
chicken meat from 4 thighs, cooked to make broth
garlic powder, salt, pepper
3 roasted large green chilies chopped, can use frozen or 3 small cans chopped green chilies
shredded white cheddar cheese - use shredded cheese of choice except Velveeta, real cheese!

Cook chicken in large stock pot with at least 6-7 cups of water. Season with large chopped onion, crushed garlic, salt & pepper to taste. Once chicken is done, remove from stock and de-bone once cool enough to handle. Chop chicken & mix with chopped peppers, 1/2 of small diced onions and 1/2 handful of cheese. Set aside while you cook polenta, it will need your undivided attention. Have your casserole dish prepared by spraying with cooking spray all over bottom and sides.

Put 4 1/2 Cups of the broth in a heavy pot, non-stick is good. Save left over broth. When it comes to rolling boil, slowly add polenta stirring continuously as you pour it in. You must stir a lot! It starts thickening up quickly. Cook according to directions, you may need to add more broth is it gets too thick too quickly. Add salt, garlic powder and pepper to polenta to taste. DO NOT USE GARLIC SALT. When it's done, add 1 1/2 handfuls of shredded cheese to polenta, makes it creamy!

Spread a little over 1/2 cooked polenta to cover bottom of casserole dish. Sprinkle light layer shredded cheese over polenta. Spread chicken-chilies mixture over that. Add another layer of shredded cheese. Spread remaining polenta over meat layer. Top with more shredded cheese and add remaining small diced onions.

Bake @ 425 for 20 minutes. Longer if making larger casserole. It is ready when bubbling all over and starting to brown on top. Let it sit to cool some before cutting into squares and serving. 

The dish was hearty, tasty and satisfying. It is very easy and quick to build casserole once chicken & stock are ready. I wanted a very savory polenta, so I added the spices even though I cooked it with the broth. You can use water for the polenta, and it would be more appropriate for a different use, say a sweet polenta. But I was after a more intense savory dish. You can use any chicken parts you want, I just prefer the tastier thigh meat. Use either hot or mild peppers, depending on your family preferences. I like hot. I am eager to experiment with other types of peppers, too.

I used a hot sauce of blended chipotle peppers and adobo sauce on the side of mine. My Honey used a milder version of a sauce made from the bit of the chipotle peppers, tomato sauce and sour cream. You could use a picante sauce or nothing at all. Let me know if you try this.

I plan on making a fall polenta with pumpkin soon, my head is spinning with ideas! Stay in touch and eat well!