This past week I had a few leftovers from Sunday dinner, namely cooked, instant brown rice (why does that always seem a little more than al dente? Is all dehydrated rice that way?) and some of the fried chicken. As you all know I don't like to reheat fried chicken a second time. I had a thigh and a whole breast half leftover.
I had watched Julia Pacheco make two different chicken and rice dishes and they both looked delicious, but I lacked most of the ingredients used. Still, I was inspired to see what I might do with my leftovers.
It turned out really good! John kept telling me how good it was. I'm glad he liked it because I have half a pan left to eat another day.
This was so simple, since my rice and chicken were already cooked. That's one of the beauties of a Leftover Makeover.
I'm calling this Western Chicken and Rice because of the flavor profile, but I didn't add corn nor black beans to my casserole because unfailingly that is exactly what you expect. I did serve both items as sides since I was out of lettuce.
Western Chicken Casserole
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 10-oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 10-oz can cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp each of garlic powder and onion powder, cumin, black pepper and salt
2-3 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup or so of Grated pepper jack cheese
I combined all ingredients except the cheese and this went into a greased 9 inch square pan. I heated it for about 35 minutes at 400F and then topped it with the cheese and let it melt. This will serve four very generously, and likely could stretch to 6 with sides and a salad. I suggest warmed tortillas, black beans, corn with smoky paprika, and a salad with pico de gallo.
I chose to use the original tomatoes with green chilis because I thought the heat would be nicely dissipated with the rice and bland chicken. It was just right for us. We like things our spicy foods to have a pleasant warmth but not a deep lingering heat.
And I'll add that the cooked instant brown rice was much plumper and more moist than at the first meal.
Your chicken recipe sounds good. It is nice the way that John tells you how good many of the dishes you cook are. My husband eats the food I serve fast as can be, and is always done before me, but he almost never compliments my cooking without being asked if he thought it was good. One time when I asked him about a dish that I had made that was new to us and was quite time consuming to make, I asked him if he thought it was good. He commented back, "Well I ate it,didn't
ReplyDeleteI." Not exactly the compliment I was fishing for. I never went to the trouble to make that again, simply because his smart aleck answer had aggravated me so much, that when I would think about making it, I would get aggravated all over again, and not make it. Kind of dumb on my part, but that is how it goes sometimes.
John has always been quick to compliment me at the end of every meal. It doesn't matter if it's peanut butter and jelly or something I slaved hours over. He says he's just thankful I cook!
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