Open the Tyson package, take the breasts out one by one, and place them onto your sprayed pan to heat them up for about 20 or so minutes.
After about 20 or so minutes, when your mouth is drooling by the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen, be prepared to remove the awesome from the oven.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan while you have hubby dice up the chicken. Ahem.
Once the butter is melted and bubbly, spoon in the flour, whisking it together until it looks like this (this is known as Roux). This will be the base of your gravy/soup.
Add the chicken broth and milk, and whisk the roux into the liquid, until the lumps are blended away.
While you let the gravy/soup sit and thicken on the burner for a bit, pour your tater tots into a bowl while you spray the baking pan they’ll be going in.
Go back and whisk your gravy/soup once more, scraping the thickness off the bottom of the saucepan, and you will notice in just that short amount of time how it’s begun to thicken quite nicely. Already. (It doesn’t take long)
Turn back to your bowl ‘o tots, and add to it the mixed vegetables, and toss ’em about a little to get a good mix.
By now, the gravy/soup should be done. Keep whisking while you turn the heat off, and once it’s blended and evenly thickened, grab a rubber spatula and prepare to make magic.
Pour the soup into the bowl. Don’t mix yet, just pour it right on top.
Add your chicken, spices, and cheese. Don’t be afraid with your spices, either. Me? I like it speecy-spicy. Get it nice and cheesy, too. You’ll thank me later. Pinky-swear.
Once stirred gently (no squashing your tots, now), lay it into your pre-sprayed pan, and flatten it out (again, gently. Don’t mash, just press so that it lays evenly). For good measure, sprinkle it with some more seasoning, and more cheese.
Spray your foil before laying it on top (so it doesn’t stick, and you don’t waste some good eats) and pop it into your oven on the middle rack for a bit. I’d give you a time, but all ovens are different – keep an eye on it, until its start bubbling and appears heated through. Maybe 20-30 minutes? Maybe more?
Once it’s good and bubbly, and the cheese on top is melty, take the foil off so that it can brown a bit.
You need to place it back in on the top rack of your oven to brown a little, and, while you’re at it, go ahead and turn the oven off.
Once browned nicely, pull out your casserole and serve in a bowl or on a plate but let cool for 5-10 minutes before eating.
Notes
To healthify this recipe,
Instead of butter, use Smart Balance (like we did), which is chock-filled with omega-3’s.
Use skim milk instead of 2%, and low-fat, low-sodium cheese.
Half the portion of gravy, and/or use less cheese.
Notice, we used Mrs. Dash and absolutely no extra salt, adding no extra sodium to the dish other than what was already in the ingredients.
Use more vegetables, and perhaps, instead of tots, cut up potatoes, baked and seasoned in the oven. (How amazing would that taste? A cheesy, chicken baked potato bake? Ohh…)