Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole

I found this recipe in the newspaper two weeks ago and boy, am I glad I did. This contains ingredients we all love and it is super easy to make and so delicious.

I did make a few adjustments; I cut down the potatoes to 6, used a quarter cup of bacon, regular onions and white cheddar cheese, and cut the hot sauce down to 4 tablespoons and I drizzled ranch dressing over the top when it came out of the oven. This has been requested on the menu again within the next two weeks. I will definitely add more bacon and potatoes.

~Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole~

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 -10 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 

 1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tblsp ground pepper
1 Tblsp paprika
2 Tblsp garlic powder
 6 Tblsp hot sauce

Topping
2 cups fiesta blend cheese 

1 cup crumbled cooked bacon
1 cup diced green onion

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. (* see note below)  Spray a 9X13" baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. Carefully scoop the potatoes into the prepared baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mixture as possible.

Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy and browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the left over olive oil/hot sauce mixture and stir to coat.

Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken.

In a bowl mix together the cheese, bacon and green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mixture. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.

 Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing. 

** I pre-baked my potatoes in the microwave, peeled, marinated and cooked them at 400 degrees to keep from spending so much time waiting on the potatoes to cook. Since they were almost completely cooked it only took them about 20 minutes to crisp up.