Monday, July 15, 2013

Mexican Chicken and Rice

True confession: I have a hard time cooking in the summer. The heat makes my taste buds go a little crazy. I could subsist on ice cream, cereal, fruit, PB&J, yogurt, and the Culver's Cranberry Bacon Bleu Salad with Chicken. Seriously. I want one (or all) of those items for every single meal, every single day.

Since a giant bowl of ice cream doesn't make a very convincing hot dinner, I've been pouring over my Pinterest boards in search of something easy and delicious. When I stumbled upon the recipe below, it was like the angels burst into song. This is my kind of summer cooking! You just have to stir a bunch of stuff together and dump it into a casserole dish. And it's the kind of stuff I usually keep in my cupboards. Bonus for not having to go to the grocery store for the seventh time this week.

Next time you feel like feeding the family PB&J for dinner, do it. (Everyone needs peanut butter and jam sometimes, am I right??) And the night after that, make Mexican Chicken and Rice.


Mexican Chicken and Rice
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen
Serves: 8

3-4 ears corn on the cob*
2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (Use those leftovers!)
4-ounce can of diced green chiles
15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups cooked brown rice (I used the kind that cooks in 5 minutes. Easy.)
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 ounces Greek yogurt
1/2 cup salsa
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
A couple handfuls of tortilla chips
Extra salsa and sour cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish and set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add corn and cook for 4 minutes. Remove corn and allow it to cool until you can handle it. Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except tortilla chips, extra salsa, and sour cream. Pour into prepared baking dish. Crumble tortilla chips and sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden around the edges. Serve with extra salsa and sour cream

*I used 4 ears of corn because fresh summer corn rocks my world. Feel free to use less if you're not as gung-ho about corn as I am. And if you don't feel like dealing with cutting kernels off the cob (there is no shame in looking for short-cuts), feel free to substitute about 2 cups of frozen corn.

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