Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

Fast meal to throw together that absolutely anyone could throw together...  Even my life partner! :D

You could cook your rice ahead of time, like the night before, and then mix it in with everything and put it in your dish.

I'm also a fan of dicing up some jalapeño and throwing that in there, too :)

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 4 cups Cooked Brown Rice
• 3/4 cups Frozen Corn
• 15 ounces, fluid Can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream)
• 4 ounces, fluid Can Green Chilis
• 1/2 cups Salsa
• 1 cup Low-fat Cheddar Cheese, Plus More For Topping
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro For Garnish

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for cilantro and mix thoroughly to combine. Make sure the yogurt and cheese are stirred in throughout the entire bowl. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and top with extra cheese if you would like. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

To make this process easier you could use Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice. It can also easily be made ahead of time and reheated.

Copy Cat Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken

Brent and I are total suckers for Panda Express so if I can try to make similar meals at home we're all about it.

I actually didn't fry the chicken the way the recipe called for - I dredged my chicken up and placed it on one of my silicone baking pans my lovely mother gave me and baked those puppies for 25 minutes at 350˚F.  I'm totally lazy so I'll shake my chicken chunks in flour in a ZipLock bag, take them out, dip them in the egg and then throw them back in the flour and shake it up and then pick them out of there.  I don't have time to work one piece at a time, not to mention the amount of gunk you get all over your fingers...
I'll still include the directions if you care to fry it.

Here's what you'll need:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups diced pineapple, fresh or canned
1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce, or more, to taste
2 green onions, thinly sliced

For the chicken:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Working one at a time, dredge chicken in flour, again, pressing to coat.

Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet, 3 or 4 at a time and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 2 minutes on each side.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add bell pepper and pineapple and cook, stirring occasionally until tender, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in chicken and Thai sweet chili sauce until well combined.

Garnish with green onion and serve immediately.

White Chicken Chili

This is a delicious feel-good meal.  It's perfect for cool nights and it actually comes together really quickly and it's even better the next day.

I realized that I totally forgot to take a picture after it was all done cooking - so this picture I took is prior to the sour cream and whipping cream being added.  Still looks good, though! :)

Brent and I actually prefer this recipe over the white chicken chili with quinoa, but that one is still pretty good, too.  That one's just not as "chili" like.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (15.5 ounce) cans great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chiles
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir chicken, onion, and garlic into the hot oil until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 10 to 15 minutes.

Mix Great Northern beans, chicken broth, green chiles, salt, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne pepper into chicken mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until flavors have blended, about 30 minutes.

Remove chili from heat; stir in sour cream and whipping cream until incorporated.  Check the temperature, if it needs to be warmed up a little more, turn the heat to low and stir until heated to desired temperature.