Fun with leftovers: Chicken Taco Cornbread

It's just the two of us here and we love roasted chicken. The only problem with roasting a whole chicken is all the leftovers. It's not really a problem because we like leftovers. I hear there are some people who will not eat leftovers. They would not fare well in this house. We really try not to waste anything.

I did a Mt Dew can chicken (we don't usually have beer here) on the grill a couple of weeks ago and after dinner, picked the chicken and froze it in a food saver bag. I figured there would be chicken soup or chicken casserole in our future until I came across this recipe. We love all the flavors so we decided to give it a try, even though earlier this week we had a new recipe flop.

The recipe's official name is Chicken Taco Cornbread Wedges with Ranchero Cilantro Drizzle. It won the 2007 National Cornbread Festival Cook-off sponsored by Martha White, Lodge Cast Iron and Brown Stove Company. I pretty much followed the recipe with a few changes.

Dressing
1/2 cup ranch dressing (I used Marie's Jalapeno Ranch)
1/2 cup salsa verde
1 cup tightly packed cilantro leaves

Filling
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
(I added a couple handfuls of real bacon bits and a little taco seasoning. Next time I'll probably add a bit of chipotle in adobo for some added heat and flavor)

Crust
1 egg
1 (7 oz.) pkg. Martha White® Sweet Yellow Cornbread Mix
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup crushed corn tortilla chips (I didn't love the chips in the bottom but hubby did, maybe next time I'll crush them up more and see if I like it better)

Toppings
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 cups shredded romaine
1 cup chopped tomatoes (the tomatoes looked horrible at the store so I left them off and we added a sprinkle of chopped black olives)

Heat oven to 400° F. Combine ranch dressing, salsa and 1 cup cilantro leaves in small food processor or blender. Process until well blended. Cover and refrigerate.

In 10-inch Lodge® cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Stir in chicken, 3 tablespoons cilantro, salt, cumin, pepper and tomatoes with green chilies; cook 5 minutes. Remove from skillet. Wipe out skillet with paper towel; grease.

In large bowl, beat egg. Add cornbread mix and milk; mix well. Place tortilla chips in greased skillet. Pour cornbread mixture over chips. Spoon chicken mixture over cornbread mixture; sprinkle with cheeses.

Bake at 400º F. for 16 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into wedges. Top with romaine and tomatoes; drizzle with dressing.
6 servings

We both agreed this will be added to our rotation for when we have leftover chicken. It'll be easy enough because I almost always have all the ingredients needed, but even if you didn't and left out or switched out something I think it would be equally as tasty.