Fiesta Chicken and Rice Bake

Imma bout to jump in the car and skiddly daddle south, but before I do, I have to share this dish with you.

This is another pantry purge meal, with frozen chicken breasts, wild rice, a few peppers from the garden and a hodgepodge of molding vegetables from the fridge.

Oh you guys, the vegetables weren’t molding. I’m just yankin’ your chain!

Actually, no one ever says that phrase anymore, and I find that quite sad.

……

This meal was TIGHT. It was sort of an experiment, putting sauteed veggies together with liquid and uncooked rice in a baking dish and crossing my toes and fingers in hopes that nothing turned out soggy or mushified. It totally worked! So, it should work for you. And if it doesn’t, forget I exist.

No, don’t do that.

All right, I’m out of here!

OH WOW – you didn’t think you’d get of me rid of me that easily did you? Oooooh, no. I’ll be checking in and harassing you with updates from the south, SUCKA!

Fiesta Chicken and Rice Bake:

Oh, and – I totally forgot to shoot prep shots of dinner, so these sliced mushrooms are all my brain could pull together. Whoopsie!

 

What it took for 2:

* 2 chicken breasts
* 1/2 cup wild rice
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
* 4 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 small jalapeno peppers, minced
* 2 scallions, finely diced
* 1 roma tomato, chopped
* 1 tsp chili powder
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 tsp coarse salt
* 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
* 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish
* 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the garlic and jalapeno peppers and bloom for 30 seconds. Add the red bell peppers, mushrooms and scallions. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and saute 5 minutes.

In a small baking dish, combine the rice, stock, tomato, cilantro and sautéed veggies. Sprinkle mixture with 1/2 the cumin and chili powder.

On another plate, sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, the remaining chili powder and cumin.

Cover rice mixture and bake 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and place chicken breasts on top of the rice. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and bake 30 more minutes.

Remove foil and broil until cheese is nice and bubbly!

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13 Responses to Fiesta Chicken and Rice Bake

  1. Prana & Pie August 30, 2011 at 2:00 pm #
    Heck to the YES! Pantry purge meals are the best! SUCKA! ...Was that an appropriate use of the word? Prally not. SUCKA!
  2. Lauren August 30, 2011 at 2:58 pm #
    I basically live off of pantry meals. Amazing! Your photos keep getting better and better, my dear!
  3. Katie August 30, 2011 at 4:15 pm #
    Again, a pantry purge meal that looks like you went out and bought ingredients specifically for the dish. You're so good at this. Teach me your ways - oh wait, you just did...in this post. Have a good trip!
  4. Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking August 30, 2011 at 4:37 pm #
    I love recipes like this, especially for a weeknight - not too involved, just a bunch of basic ingredients, and absolutely delicious! This looks like something my husband and I would just love. Thanks for sharing! You have a beautiful blog and I'm so glad to have found it.
    • Bev Weidner August 30, 2011 at 4:40 pm #
      Thank you so much, Georgia! Great to meet you!
  5. Deliciously Organic August 30, 2011 at 8:44 pm #
    Holy moly, this looks good!! I think I have all of these ingredients in my pantry right now. I'm printing off the recipe. Thanks!
  6. Brooke August 30, 2011 at 11:09 pm #
    Why is it so pretttttty?!! Everything that comes out of my pantry looks like steamed oatmeal and cream of mushroom goo.
  7. Joanna @ Southern Daisy August 31, 2011 at 2:18 am #
    Wow that looks delish! Not sure my hubby would go for the wild rice. Can I substitute white rice?
    • Bev Weidner August 31, 2011 at 2:20 am #
      Thank you, Joanna! Yes, you could absolutely sub white rice!
  8. Deborah September 1, 2011 at 5:48 am #
    What a great experiment!! Usually my experiments don't look that good. :)
  9. Alison @ ingredients, Inc. September 1, 2011 at 6:09 pm #
    holy yummy!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

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  2. Climbing Grier Mountain » just peachy - January 28, 2013 [...] and for the main event, I made this for dinner! [...]

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