Last night my friends and I got together for the season finale of American Horror Story (craziness!!!) and it was my turn to make dinner so I decided on Southwest Chicken and Rice. This dinner is super easy, all you need is one pan and a great combination of smokey spices, vegetables, chicken, rice, salsa, and spicy pepper jack cheese make it incredibly delicious!
Start by browning some chicken tenders in oil in a large skillet, sprinkling with spices as they cook.
After you remove the chicken from the pan add some diced onion and bell pepper (the kitchen and probably much of your house will start to smell incredibly delicious at this point, this is normal).
Stir in rice, garlic, and cilantro.
Add salsa (you should probably eat some with tortilla chips, ya know, just to be sure it’s good).
After this has all cooked together for a few minutes add some water, black beans, and corn.
Add the chicken back to the pan and cover, cooking until the rice soft and the chicken is completely cooked through.
Sprinkle liberally with shredded cheese (everyone loves cheese and if they don’t you should probably reconsider why you’re cooking them dinner…), recover, and let it melt.
Serve with extra salsa, sour cream, and guacamole (try my recipe here) as desired.
Recipe
Southwest Chicken and Rice
Serves 8
Ingredients:
2 pounds of chicken tenders
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon dried cilantro
salt & pepper
1 large sweet onion – diced
1 bell pepper – diced
2 cups rice
2 cloves garlic – minced
2 cups southwest salsa – plus more for serving
3 cups water
16 oz can black beans – drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
8 oz pepper jack cheese – shredded
sour cream – optional for serving
guacamole – optional for serving
– In a large skillet heat the oil and add the chicken tenders, sprinkle with paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt & pepper, brown both sides (about 3 minutes on each side) then remove to a plate
– Place the onion, pepper, and cilantro in the skillet and cook until tender (about 5 minutes)
– Add the rice and garlic to the skillet and stir, cooking for 1-2 minutes
– Stir in the salsa
– Add the water, black beans, and corn
– Return the chicken to the skillet, laying on top of the rice, cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the rice is done and the chicken is cooked through
– Serve, topping with extra salsa, sour cream, and guacamole as desired
