Place chicken in oven-safe dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Chop into bite-size pieces. (Leave oven on.)
While chicken is cooking, pan-fry bacon in a large pan. (Do NOT discard bacon grease or clean pan.) Press grease out of bacon. Allow to cool. Chop.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles according to package directions. Set aside.
While noodles are cooking, take pan of bacon drippings. Discard all but approx. 2 tsp. of bacon drippings.
Add butter and garlic to pan. Sauté for 1 minute over medium heat.
Add chicken. Sprinkle flour over chicken. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes, until all the bacon drippings and butter soaked up.
Add milk, ranch, chipotle chili powder, and smoked paprika. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until mixture is slightly thickened.
Add 1 cup of cheese. Stir and cook for 30 seconds-1 minute or until cheese is melted.
Add cooked noodles. Mix thoroughly.
Add chopped green chilis and chopped bacon. Mix thoroughly.
Pour into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese. Sprinkle with ghost pepper salt.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is hot.
Notes
For the bacon, we use Wrights Applewood or Hickory Smoked. Both are thick, large pieces. If you're using smaller pieces, I would use 10-12 slices of bacon instead of just 8.Ranch dressing- I use Hidden Valley for this recipe. Ghost pepper salt- this is hard to find. We order is from The Spice & Tea Exchange. It's optional, but it adds a wonderful kick to this dish.