Miss Scarlett Cooks! Loaded Baked Potato and Chicken Casserole

Welcome, everyone, to the first installment of Miss Scarlett Cooks! I'll be sharing some of my recipes with you and trying not to feel too Paula Deen-ish as I do. The inaugural recipe is one of my guilt pleasures. This casserole tries to replicate a loaded baked potato, with some chicken tossed in. Definitely not something you have every week; it's more of a winter comfort-food type meal, great after some snow shoveling or a brisk walk. It is a heavy, heavy meal. The recipe can be found after the jump.



I'll warn you guys ahead of time that this recipe has an hour's worth of cooking time and about 20 minutes of prep time (or less, depending on how fast you are). This is *not* a meal to make when you're in a crunch for time, and definitely should be planned ahead of time. This feeds about 4 to 6 people, give or take.

The Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 lbs chicken breasts**
• 8 medium potatoes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese***
• 1 cup cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1 cup green onion, diced
• Sour cream (if you want)

**I should note here that you can reduce the amount of chicken and potatoes if you want; it all depends on how many people you're feeding. You can also play a bit with the spices. I'll sometimes substitute onion salt for regular salt, or toss in some onion powder as well. You could also add a dash of hot sauce.
***I recommend cheddar, but use whatever you like/have.

The Tools:

• An oven (naturally)
• Baking dish
• Two mixing bowls
• Measuring spoons
• Chopping board
• Sharp knife
• Measuring cups
• Slotted spoon
• Cooking spray (is this an ingredient or a tool?)

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees, and coat a baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In one bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.
3. Cut the potatoes into cubes and then add them to the bowl with the pepper-paprika-garlic sauce. Use the slotted spoon to stir the potatoes around in the sauce, thoroughly coating them. Transfer the potatoes to the baking dish, leaving as much sauce as possible in the original bowl.
4. Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
5. Cut the chicken into small cubes, then add to the sauce bowl. Stir them around, to get them thoroughly coated in the sauce as well. Let them sit to marinate.
6. While the potatoes bake and the chicken marinates, put the cheese, bacon, and onions in the second mixing bowl; mix them together.
7. Once the potatoes are finished baking for the 45 minutes, add the chicken to the dish. (Add some of the sauce, but not all, or the potatoes turn out greasy.) Stir everything around. Then coat everything with the cheese mixture.
8. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, until cheese is golden brown and chicken is done. Top with a teeny dollop of sour cream if you're feeling dangerous. ;) 

Yum! Hope you enjoy! Miss Scarlett, signing out!