Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

• 8 to 10 medium potatoes cut into 1/2-inch cubes (skin on)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 6 tablespoons hot sauce (more if you like the heat)
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into �-inch cubes

Topping

• 2 cups fiesta Mexican blend cheese (or a Monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend)
• 1 cup crumbled cooked bacon
• 1 cup diced green onion (optional)

Directions

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 500 F (this is not a typo).
2. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
3. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and hot sauce; then add the potatoes and stir to coat.
4. Carefully scoop the potatoes into the prepared baking dish (do not pour) leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mixture as possible.
5. Bake the potatoes for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, until cooked through, crispy and browned on the outside.
6. While the potatoes are cooking, add the diced chicken to the left over olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat. Allow the chicken to marinate while the potatoes bake. In another bowl mix together the cheese, bacon and green onion and set aside.
7. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 400 F and top the potatoes with the raw marinated chicken, then top the raw chicken with the cheese mixture.
8. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is melted and bubbly. Serve with extra hot sauce, ranch dressing or sour cream.
9. Helpful hint
10. Not everyone in a family likes green onions, so you can divide the cheese/bacon mixture in half and added onions to one half, leaving the other half onion free. Also increasing the cheese to 3 cups instead of 2 is a cheesier option.
11. Just follow the directions as stated above, but add the third cup of cheese over the bacon, cheese and green onion mixture before baking again.