Viva la Chicken

This recipe is in the old Oregon Cookbook and it is delicious

I’ve made this recipe for years and always eyeballed it on the amounts depending on how many I was feeding ! Never refrigerated it because it always went into a throwaway metal baking tin and I thought that was a no no. I used sour cream(might help with not being runny), not milk and thighs not breasts and green onions not yellow onions. On the diced green chiles I always used the Ortega fire roasted ones and they should have a spice meter on the side I believe, but mine were always mild. On occasion I would add a mild green tomatillo salsa from Herdez and some sautéed mushrooms. I’ve also added a can of sliced carrots but that didn’t go over well with my kids! Haha! Now on the timing and oven degree? Wow, that’s way off from what I cook it at. Depending on how big a tray I’m cooking and the thickness (layers I’ve made) my temp is 350 degrees and anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. I mean the chickens already cooked and really all you are looking to get is all the stuff boiling and bubbling together and get the cheese all goldeny brown right? At least that’s the way I think on it. If you feel your casserole might burn on the bottom due to the metal tin or the food sticking use a Pyrex dish or Corning ware and/or put parchment on the bottom of pan.

This was something my MIL used to make. The recipe was lost and I was desperate to find it. Little did I know it wasn’t an “old family recipe” at all. Thank you Google!! This is still a favorite of my husband and I. It brings back some wonderful memories and is never anything less than delicious. I strongly agree with above comments. It’s well worth it to add a bit (about a cup) of green salsa verde to the soup mixture. Don’t skip the refrigeration! It is the magic ingredient to this recipe. I recommend using more chicken (another cup or two) just to give it a bit more substance but that is purely personal preference. Give this recipe a try! You likely will be very happy you did. Cheers!

This dish was served by my aunts at my wedding shower 50 years ago. I believe it originated as a recipe on a label of some salsa or green chilies…and was called “Viva la Chicken.” I think my original recipe from my aunts called for a specific jar of salsa. I’ve made it off and on for years…and like it but sometimes it ends up soupy. The original recipe said to cover with foil and refrigerate for 24 hours…then bake at 300 degrees for 1 – 1.5 hours. It didn’t say to take the foil off. I have a hard time remembering whether to remove the foil…which is probably why I end up with a soupy casserole on occasion! LOL I find the easiest way to prepare the liquid in the recipe is to put chunks of onions into a blender with the cup of milk. When it has gotten chopped up, I add the soups and chilies to blend. Super easy!!!! 🙂 I appreciate that you have specific amounts of chicken and cheese. The original recipe was a bit vague about amounts.