One Pot Chicken and Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

Fall seems to have arrived promptly here in Cleveland, except the leaves haven't caught up with the program, just the cool drop in temperature. I now want to make soups and hearty big potted dishes. I have completely switched over to wanting to prepare meals using the one pot technique.

Getting a whole bunch of ingredients, throwing them into a pot or casserole dish and letting them cook and morph into a delicious meal on its own. I have so much to do, and I plan on taking my to do lists up a notch in the upcoming weeks.

Therefore, having a way to cut down on time while still creating something delicious is a major win. I saw a post on a loaded potato casserole and decided that I should get this going and try it out for myself with a few alterations.

Ingredients

 4 Chicken Breasts, diced 

6 Medium Potatoes, diced

6 Slices of Bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

5 Green Onions Sliced 

1 Cup Heavy Cream

Salt/Pepper/Basic Seasonings

2 Tablespoons Butter

• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• Lightly grease 9"x13" in. casserole dish
• Season diced chicken in your preferred manner (I freehandedly use some Lawry's seasoning salt and paprika)
• Spread half of the potatoes on casserole dish, then evenly spread all of the chicken over potatoes.
• Sprinkle half of the bacon crumbles over the chicken followed by 3/4 cups of shredded cheese and half of the green onions. 
• Add the remaining potatoes, then the rest of the bacon, and another 3/4 cups of shredded cheese. 
• Sprinkle on the remaining green onions followed by a light seasoning of salt and pepper. 
• Pour the cup of heavy cream over the entire mixture. 
• Slice up butter over the top of dish.
• Cover with foil and bake for one hour.
• Uncover for the final 30 minutes, in the last five minutes, sprinkle top with 1/2 cup of cheese.

So I completely forgot that I was out of aluminum foil after I got home and started cooking. So it was time to improvise! I found a glass top to one of my pots and put it over the center of the dish. It served its purpose. There's always another way to do something. 

Before serving, I cut up some more green onions and added it on top for freshness and appeal. This is definitely a "meat and potatoes" type of meal, therefore it was imperative I paired it with something light and crisp. I'm thinking of saving this casserole as an "I'm sorry" meal for Byron when I feel bad for doing something stupid. It is definitely a satisfying dish and extremely delicious.

I guarantee this dish as a winner every single time. How can bacon and potatoes go wrong? The chicken was such a great addition. I wouldn't have it any other way. It lasted us about 4 and a half servings (Two separate nights of dinner for the both of us, and seconds for Byron on the first night.) If you make this, you will be happy.

Bon Appetit

Z