We LOVE Mexican Food ~ ARRIBA! ARRIBA!

For supper last night we had Buttery Garlic Rotisserie Chicken from Walmart (SO good...try it!), and we had a little more than half of the whole chicken left. These leftovers were fantastic news to two tired people who didn't feel like cooking tonight.

I pulled up my Pinterest "Delightful Dishes" board and showed Ryan Paula Deen's Mexican Chicken recipe. We had most of the ingredients, and we love cheesy mexican food. This was perfect!

Here's what we used:

• 1 can cream of chicken condensed soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom condensed soup
• 1 can cheddar cheese condensed soup
• 1 10oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika
• 4 flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
• Leftover chicken, approximately 2-3 cups
• 7x11 (2 Qt) Pyrex dish

Here's what Ryan did:

• Stirred soups, tomatoes and spices in a mixing bowl; Mixing well
• Pulled shreds of chicken from the leftover whole chicken and added to the mixture
• Layered two tortillas, side-by-side, in the bottom of the pyrex dish
• Poured the mixture in the dish on top of the tortillas
• Layered two tortillas, side-by-side, on top of the mixture
• Sprinkled shredded cheese on top of tortillas
• Bake at 350 for 20-30minutes, until cheese melts and begins to brown

As you can see, it turned out pretty soupy. Basically, we were working with what we had on hand, and we only had 4 tortillas and not a whole chicken. But, it was still DELICIOUS, and obviously, super easy, so.........YAY!

You may be wondering what the measurements were for the spices. That's tricky because we do most measurements by taste, feel/experience. He probably used more garlic powder and black pepper than the other spices. If you make this recipe, use a dash or two of each, stir well and taste. Experiment to see what you like and how much you like...remember you can always add, but you can't take away. Just don't add salt. The soups and cheese have plenty of salt.

The next time we make this dish, we will layer it like lasagna, and add more chicken, more tortillas, onions (instead of onion powder), green bell peppers, and, maybe substitute Ro-Tel Tomatoes for regular diced tomatoes.

If nothing else, this proves that you can use recipes as foundations to add to, take away from or do whatever you need to do with what you have on hand. Sometimes, a trip to the store just isn't something you want to accomplish. ;-)

Let us know what changes or additions you make...Buenos noche, amigos!

For the original Paula Deen recipe, click here.

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