I have a confession to make… I’m tired of cooking.

I’m tired of peeling. I’m tired of chopping. And I am so damn tired of doing the dishes.

Remember all of those healthy recipes I posted last week? I made two of them. That’s right. Two. And then I fell off of the healthy wagon and landed smack-dab in the middle of a large cheese pizza.

I had every intention of preparing dinner each night last week. I even managed to conquer the grocery store with Baby J, checking each and every ingredient off of my list as I optimistically tossed them into my cart. But as the week wore on, my motivation waned. Who wants to waste time washing dishes when they could be hanging with their sweet baby boy? Certainly not me. Maybe if I wasn’t working full-time it would be a different story, but probably not. What’s a girl to do?

Cue Mimi (Jack’s grandma).

Yesterday, my mom stopped by the house to drop off “some things,” which turned out to be a homemade meal and some of my favorite oatmeal muffins. Living in the same city as your parents definitely has its perks.

Instead of chips & salsa, a bagel, or whatever else we could scrounge up around the house, we were treated to one of my all time favorite dinners, King Ranch Casserole. This is the meal I would beg my mom to cook on special occasions. Every birthday. Every holiday. Every guy I have ever brought home to meet my parents. It’s always King Ranch Casserole. I can’t imagine a more perfect meal for a cold, wintry night.

It’s not a healthy meal per se (at all), but it’s delicious none the less. My mom always makes me a special vegetarian version using tempeh instead of chicken, but I am posting the recipe as written for all of my carnivorous friends. Make it tonight. Eat it in your pjs. You can thank me later.

I will be polishing off our leftovers today, as I am home from school again due to the icy road conditions. If you read my previous post regarding the “Snowpacolypse 2014,” you know what this means for me… A whole lot of eating and a whole lot of online shopping.

 

King Ranch Casserole

*photo courtesy of Southern Living

ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 4 oz can chopped green chilis

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp tabasco

3/4c-1c chicken broth

4 cups Fritos or Tortilla chips, crushed

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese

instructions

Combine soups, green chilis, spices, Tabasco sauce, and broth. Cover bottom of 2-1/2 or 3 qt casserole with 2 cups of crushed chips. Then add 1/2 of the chicken, 1/2 sauce, and 1/2 cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot. Let rest about 10 minutes before serving.

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I really, really love eating this casserole with some buttery french bread (as if the 4 cups of crushed chips aren’t enough carbs).