This is not a freezer meal, so I am changing things up on you guys. First, let me start you off with the list of ingredients you will need.
2 packages of cream cheese
2 Cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 lbs. Boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts or tenderloins (I used tenderloins because they cook a little faster and I find it easier to shred them)
5-7 Fresh Green Chilies (if you can’t find fresh green chilies, you can buy canned green chilies. I would suggest 3-5 cans, depending on how much heat and flavor you want)
1- 16 ounce jar of Salsa Verde, any brand of style, that is up to you (I used Old El Paso Garlic and Lime Salsa Verde)
½ Cup of Water
1 package of Egg noodles
There are a few different steps to all of this, and you can make it however is easiest for you. This is just a guideline of the recipe, but I am going to take you step by step on how I did it. Before we start, turn your oven on to 250°. We are still going to cook this slowly so that our chicken can soak up that green chili flavor!!
STEP 1-
You will want to prep your cream cheese and green chilies. For the cream cheese, cut each block into small squares and set aside. For the green chilies, if you are using fresh chilies, it is up to you if you want to roast them. Mine were roasted, but my friend did it for me, so I can’t tell you how to do it. I am sure you can find it on Pinterest though. Cut off the tops of the chilies and scrape out all the seeds. Dice the green chilies and set aside. This is where all the flavor is at, so add as many or as little chilies as you personally want. I added 5 whole chilies, and it was the right amount of flavor and spice for me. I could have put a couple more in and I think it still would have been okay.
STEP 2-
Using my Rockcrok from Pampered Chef, I prepped the chicken and sauce. You can use any dish that is oven safe for this. I poured in my ½ cup of water, and ½ of the jar of Salsa Verde. I whisked that together and then place the chicken breast tenderloins into the Rockcrok. It is important to have a liquid base underneath because you don’t want to burn the chicken.
STEP 3-
Add the chunks of chunks of cream cheese, the remainder of the Salsa Verde and the diced green chilies to the pot. Spread them around evenly on top of the chicken. Cover the baking dish and put in the oven. Let it cook for 2 hours at 250° (If you want to cook this faster, turn up the temp). If you are using Chicken Breasts and not the tenderloins, you might need to let it cook a little longer to get through the meat. Check it every 20 minutes or so after the two hours.
STEP 4-
After the two hours is up, remove the dish from the oven and separate the chicken from the pot and place it on a clean cutting board. Once the chicken is removed, whisk the sauce to make sure that all the cream cheese chunks have melted. Change the temperature of your oven to 350°.
STEP 5-
Start a pot of boiling water, and once it has come to a rolling boil, add the Egg Noodles and cook as directed. While the noodles are cooking, work on shredding the chicken. Keep an eye on your noodles though, egg noodles cook fast.
STEP 6-
When the noodles are done cooking, drain them and dump them in a 9x12 casserole pan. Sprinkle some Olive Oil on top of the noodles and mix it around so they won’t clump together. Next, pour the shredded chicken and sauce mixture over the noodles. Mix it all together in the casserole pan until it looks like the noodles are evenly covered. Sprinkle the top with the shredded Mozzarella cheese and pop back in the over for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.
Grab a fork and dig in!!
My husband and I really enjoyed this meal. In fact, we both had seconds! My daughter wouldn't eat “that green stuff”, but my dog was watching me and waiting for me to drop some in my lap. This is Jack!
